DULUTH — Duluth fire officials suspect foul play in an early-morning blaze at a school playground that caused an estimated $45,000 or more in damage.

Firefighters were dispatched Saturday just before 3 a.m. to Lester Park School. They found the playground and its bedding of rubber chips in flames.

The fire was extinguished but the playground sustained significant damage.

The Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating. However, as the fire department notes in a statement, “there is little chance the cause of the fire will be accidental.”