Vandals damage Bigfork decorations

The Daily Inter Lake

The sleeping village of Bigfork unwittingly became Whoville Friday, when Grinches of Dr. Seuss-inspired proportions of malice trashed the town.

They cut down a live 40-foot tree, broke lights and Christmas decorations, and "tore things up" in Bigfork before dawn Friday.

A flag was burned, Christmas trees were pulled over, and parking signs were damaged.

The vandals struck sometime after 2:30 a.m., when a man drove through the undisturbed town, and 5:30 a.m., when he returned to chaos.

"We'll find them," Sheriff Jim Dupont said of the vandals.

Bigfork, deftly decorated every year by community "elves" has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine for its holiday charm. This year, it's the topic of a Crimestoppers reward for information leading to arrests of the anti-elves.

"I think it's idiotic," Dupont said of the damage. "I can't even comprehend why someone would do that."

Crimestoppers will pay up to $1,000 for anyone who can help officers figure out who, if not why.

It might not be too difficult.

A security camera at the Bigfork Inn captured images of the perpetrators, said state Sen. Bob Keenan, who owns the inn.

"We've got these guys on camera, so it's just a matter of time," he said.

There appeared to be two or three people involved, and at one point, they were seen by a delivery truck driver.

"There was a delivery truck that came around the corner and stopped and talked to them," Keenan said.

At the north end of Electric Avenue, in front of the Bigfork Inn and Bjorge's Gallery, a decorated town Christmas tree was sawed down by the vandals.

"This thing is a good 8 inches in diameter and they sawed through it with a handsaw, apparently," Keenan said.

"It's just malicious, stupid, mindless stuff," he said. "There's no explanation for it."

Smaller Christmas trees along the sidewalks were pulled down, along with decorative lights.

But by Friday afternoon, 90 percent of the damage was repaired. The fallen tree was being propped up with a cherry picker and redecorated.

There have been past rashes of minor vandalism targeting the town's Christmas decorations, but that seemed to come to an end several years ago, said Keenan.

This year's damage was worse, he said.