The fire burned at California and Broderick streets in Lower Pacific Heights. Crews planned to stay overnight to watch for renewed flames, even after authorities lifted all evacuation and shelter instructions. The cause remained under investigation, and officials reported neither injuries nor anyone permanently displaced.
Firefighters initially worked from outside because parts of the church were difficult to reach and structural safety was uncertain. After assessing a section as stable, commanders shifted strategy and sent crews inside to extinguish remaining pockets. The operation escalated from two alarms to three as resources increased.
A shelter-in-place order covered the 2800 block of California Street, with police notifying residents door to door. Smoke travelled east across San Francisco Bay toward Oakland. Roads around Divisadero, California and adjoining streets remained restricted into the evening.
At the Fire Department's request, utility PG&E disconnected power to 2,425 customers at 2:26 p.m. By 10:30 p.m., 1,093 customers were still without service. The shutdown reduced electrical hazards around the incident but widened its effect beyond the church property.
Drew School, located across the street, told families that summer students had been collected safely and that no active threat remained on campus. The school monitored air quality and coordinated with fire, police, the utility and the local supervisor's office. The American Red Cross assisted people temporarily affected.
Public-safety teams also used a drone to observe the scene. Officials asked recreational pilots to keep their drones away and requested that media helicopters remain above 1,000 feet, protecting airspace needed for emergency operations.
The same block had been investigated after antisemitic and homophobic graffiti appeared on a church in February. Police arrested a 51-year-old man in that case and estimated damage above $20,000. Fire officials said there was no immediate indication connecting the June blaze to that vandalism, making any claim of a shared cause unsupported.
The church dates to 1892 and had been undergoing renovation. Its age and construction increased the significance of the damage, but the supplied report did not provide a structural-loss estimate or state whether the building could be restored.
Containment ended the immediate danger without reported physical harm to residents or firefighters. Determining why the fire started and what parts of the historic structure survived would require the investigation and later engineering assessments. Renovation work was under way when the fire began.
