Mountlake Terrace church will rebuild after 2-alarm fire

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. — A Mountlake Terrace church will rebuild after last week's devastating fire.  That's what members tell us after a meeting that lasted all morning.

Fire investigators say the two-alarm fire broke out at the Mt. Zion Lutheran Church early Thursday morning because of a lit cigarette left outside.

Our cameras weren't allowed inside Mt. Zion's makeshift chapel, a house on church property the pastor tells us an AA group uses every morning free of charge.  Today it's where mother and daughter Kim and Sarah Kubie went to worship for the first time since the fire.

"We came by that evening and it was really kind of dark, couldn't see, so now I'm seeing more for the first time how much damage there really is to the fellowship hall,” Kim tells us, standing in the parking lot.

Kim says she and her husband have been members longer than Sarah has been alive.

"I've been here probably 17 or 18 years; my husband was going here before we met,” she explains.

A service and an hour and half long meeting, and the Kubies and about a dozen others decided they want to bring Mt.. Zion back after it went up in 20 foot high flames that charred the main building so badly it's a safety hazard.

But the timeline depends on insurance.  In the meantime, the home may be home.

"I was glad we could regroup,” says Sarah, pointing to the house.

The pastor told us off camera people around the area have offered up space for the congregation to use-- a kindness, like the church does for AA.  Whether they'll take advantage of that, the members still aren't sure.

KIRO