Suspicious fire at Great Northern Mall in Clay under investigation

Fire crews from six departments rushed to the vacant Great Northern Mall in Clay after flames broke out in the old movie theater area while hundreds of people were gathered in the parking lot for a weekly food truck event and fireworks. Onondaga County investigators later classified the blaze as suspicious, and the sheriff’s office identified vandals as the likely cause.

Crews from Moyers Corners, Clay, Cicero, Baldwinsville, the North West Fire District and Phoenix brought the fire under control in about 20 minutes. Black smoke billowed from the former theater space, and fire was visible both inside and outside the building. Investigators found an unsecured door that may have served as an entry point.

The mall had already been shut off from electricity and gas as demolition preparations moved ahead, but the fire forced emergency responders back into a site that has been sitting empty since it closed in 2022. Great Northern Mall opened in 1988 and once held roughly 80 to 91 stores, a food court and a 10-screen cinema before most tenants left.

Demolition was scheduled to begin the week after the fire, after weeks of delays, as Guy Hart moves ahead with plans to turn the old mall into a modern mixed-use district. Demolition work at the site began in March 2026, and the broader project could cover more than 200 acres as Hart acquires nearby land around the mall’s 126-acre footprint. The redevelopment effort included a split with a housing partner and a later court ruling ordering the mall owners to pay a former partner $1.5 million.

The investigation was still ongoing and did not identify a suspect or say whether anyone was seen inside before the fire.