Whitefish workshop destroyed by fire

A workshop located behind a residence on Fifth Street West in Whitefish was destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters were called out around 2:15 p.m. and were on the scene shortly thereafter.

According to Whitefish Fire Department Acting Fire Chief Travis Tveidt, the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time. He added that the owner had several tools plugged into electrical outlets, which could have caused the fire, but there was not enough evidence to rule that as the cause.

Neighbors reported they heard a pop and then started seeing smoke billowing from the structure. They also reported the owner of the workshop enjoyed working on all sorts of projects in the workshop and stored many special items inside the structure. Tveidt said the structure is a total loss, but some of the possessions stored inside may be salvageable. There were no other homes or structures threatened by the fire.

An estimated 16 firefighters from Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Evergreen, Big Mountain and West Valley responded to the call. It took around an hour and a half to extinguish the fire and crews were off the scene by 4 p.m.