The two-alarm fire that destroyed the interior of a Goodwill store on South Boulevard late Thursday was intentionally set, according to fire officials.

Investigators said they determined that someone entered the store after it closed Thursday night and set a blaze that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage.

The contents of the store, located between Archdale Drive and East Arrowood Road, were a total loss. Goodwill officials said they are not sure when the store will be reopened.

On Friday, Goodwill employees sifted through the charred remains of the store. Plastic hangers had melted off their wire hooks. Nearly all of the donated clothes were destroyed, and stereo equipment was contorted by the heat of the blaze. Items that weren't scorched were covered in soot.

The first fire alarm came in around 10 p.m. Thursday, an hour after the store closed.

"Passersby called 911, reporting smoke coming from the store," said Charlotte Fire Capt. Rob Brisley.

Firefighters said heavy smoke was showing from the store when they arrived.

Crews quickly called a second alarm, and it took a crew of 47 firefighters nearly 40 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

South Boulevard was closed in the area for a few hours because crews needed to stretch hoses to a hydrant across the road from the store.

No injuries were reported, and the road was reopened about 12:30 a.m.

Chief fire investigator Paul Wilkinson said the fire began in the retail area of the store. He declined to say how the fire was set.

Wilkinson said investigators haven't identified a possible suspect or motive in the arson - a crime he compared to robbing a church.

"Why would you burn a Goodwill store?" he said. "This is a place whose sole effort is to help people who don't have anything."

A spokeswoman for Goodwill said Friday that the 20 employees at the South Boulevard store will be reassigned to other stores in the area, and she said nobody will lose his or her job.

Wilkinson said investigators are looking for anyone who might have passed by the store or seen any people or vehicles in the area between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Thursday. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.