Watsonville playground burned down, arson investigation underway

Neighbors who live next to Muzzio Park in Watsonville were awoken early Tuesday morning to find their beloved park in ashes.

The Watsonville Police Department has launched an arson investigation after the park’s playground was burned down.

“It definitely looked to our officers like there was some wood piled up underneath the structure as it was burning,” Watsonville PD sgt. Mish Radich said.

WPD went door-to-door in hopes of finding information to help solve the case.

Wednesday, many neighborhood kids looked longingly at the charred play structure.

“I would always take my nieces, and now we can’t since it burned down,” Sergio Regalado said.

Police say the cost of the damage is in the ballpark of $50,000 to $60,000. The city of Watsonville said they are looking into their insurance plan to replace the playground as soon as possible.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Gustavo Zamora at 831-768-3355.