Famous UFO Welcome Center in SC destroyed in fire. Here’s what we know

The UFO Welcome Center in Bowman is no more.

The saucer shaped wooden structure built over a period of years by Jody Pendarvis was engulfed by fire early Thursday morning.

Pendarvis told the Post and Courier he doesn’t know how it started but he doesn’t suspect arson. He mused that perhaps aliens were responsible. He lost his trailer next door, too.

The crudely constructed two-story building was 16 feet tall and 49 feet around and built from plywood, fiberglass and plastic. Pendarvis started building it in 1994 and has attracted attention from newspapers around the country, Roseanne Barr and Comedy Center.

Pendarvis chose the design from 1950s era flying saucers. Over the years, he added a kitchen to be hospitable to visiting ETs and left a hole in the top for easier access from the sky.