RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. -- A 61-year-old woman is facing arson and reckless endangerment charges in connection with a fire that destroyed a downtown building in Richland Center earlier this week.

VIDEO: Watch The Report| SLIDESHOW: Images Of Fire In Downtown Richland Center

Joen M. Fazel, of Richland Center, was charged Thursday with one count of arson and eight counts of reckless endangerment. At a bail hearing Thursday afternoon, a $100,000 bond was set for Fazel. She will stay in jail until an initial appearance on Monday, WISC-TV reported.

"She is a flight risk because she was planning to leave the area when she did this," said Richland County District Attorney Andrew Sharp.

Authorities said that Fazel was a longtime resident of one of the four apartments on the second floor of the destroyed building. Authorities said that Fazel started the fire by lighting a newspaper in her apartment and fleeing the scene.

Four apartments and three businesses were destroyed in the blaze early Tuesday morning, and the damage is estimated at more than $750,000.

Five people escaped injury, and the Music Shop, the Frame Corner and the Palace Barber Shop sustained significant damage. The fire broke out at around 4:30 a.m. in the 100 block of East Court Street.

Authorities said three firefighters were injured as they searched in the fire, thinking Fazel was still in her apartment. Volunteer firefighters from four departments spent 10 hours battling the blaze that broke out upstairs.

Richland Center residents on Thursday reacted to the news that authorities believe the devastating fire was arson.

Barbi Hilleshiem, owner of the Music Shop, on Thursday surveyed the ruins of her business after the fire. The 30-year-old Music Shop sat boarded up on Thursday.

"We always had music playing. Our guitars were all in the back walls," Hilleshiem said.

Chris Vanhorn lived in an apartment above the Music Shop and was displaced by the fire.

Vanhorn said he's still in shock after learning that his neighbor has been accused of setting the fire.

"It's a little mindboggling that what appeared to be a sweet, old lady had such a mean-spirited steak in her," Vanhorn said.

Prosecutors said escalating tension between Fazel and her landlord is what prompted the blaze.

But Hilleshiem, whose father owns the building, said she believes Fazel was in dire need of social services.

"This should not have happened. She needed assistance and she wasn't getting it, and the sad part is it affected so many people and so many lives," Hilleshiem said.

Neighbors said Fazel had been a tenant in the building for a long time, but neighbors and business owners said she kept to herself and would often get agitated when people offered her help.

The displaced residents and businesses are in the process of setting up a donation fund to help cover damages, WISC-TV reported.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.