Teen says he accidentally started fire

A 17-year-old boy has admitted to accidentally starting a fire that damaged a community center and forced two Santa Cruz County schools to close for a day, authorities said.

The boy, whose name was withheld because of his age, told sheriff ’s investigators that he and some friends had gone to the location where the fire started Sunday night hoping to smoke some marijuana, only to realize they didn’t have any, authorities said.

To stay warm, they lit a cardboard box on fire and later threw the ashes in a trash can, not realizing that the fire had not been totally extinguished, investigators said.

The fire quickly spread to a gym and community center adjacent to Loma Prieta Elementary School and C.T. English Middle School. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, preventing it from damaging the schools at 23800 Summit Road, Los Gatos.

But officials at the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District, which is based at the same location, canceled classes Monday. The campuses were open Tuesday, officials said.

“This is an amazing mountain community that rises to meet every challenge. We will rise to this occasion as well. We will rebuild together and restore our facilities as a team,” Superintendent Corey Kidwell wrote in a message posted on the district’s website.