RNA - “It started there and it spread to the right of the sight.”
Shakeel Rashed is the secretary of the board of what was going to be the Islamic Center of Lake Travis. But flames ripped through the three-story building under construction, burning it to the ground.
“I was pretty shocked to see the whole structure completely down.”
Before the fire, the foundation had been set, the frame was sup and windows were in place.
“We were just about to start the outside work for the stucco.”
Rashed said the idea of building the center came years ago when the Muslim community came together to help others for a different fire and they realized they were outgrowing their meeting spot at a local elementary school.
“The seed of the center was put together when our families got together to help the victims of the Steiner Ranch fires, and it’s sad to see that we are affected in the same way right now.”
Lake Travis Fire Rescue got the call around 3:30 early Saturday morning. When they arrived, the building was fully engulfed in flames.
As to what started the fire, Rashed said they didn’t have any electrical systems installed yet. They did have one construction machine inside that fire marshals are looking into — but he is asking the community to restrain from drawing any conclusions before the investigation is completed.
“We want to keep our mind open, we’ve always felt this was an open community, and I am a big fan of Austin, so it’s very surprising if it would be a hate crime in this area.”
As for their future here in the Lake Travis community?
“We will start over. There uno question that we don’t want this boiling to be in this area. We are part of the community, and we would love to rebuild at this very site.”
847/940