ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A fire has damaged a statue of Jesus that St. Paul officials decided had to be moved from the Mississippi River bluff.

Tuan Pham owns the statue, and tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press his family believes it was arson. They say wood was piled around the base and lit, probably after 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

The statue escaped with only streaks of soot and discoloration to its base, but son Huy Pham says they don’t know if the charring can be removed and haven’t decided what’s next.

The City Council last week decided the statue had to be moved. An ordinance requires a 40-foot setback from the bluff’s edge.

Tuan Pham commissioned the 7-foot white marble statue as a replica of the 105-foot Christ of Vung Tao statue in his native Vietnam.