House damaged by fire

The Daily Inter Lake

A structure fire gutted a house in the 300 block of Seventh Avenue East North late Monday night.

The call came into the Kalispell Fire Department at about 10:15 p.m., said Kalispell Assistant Fire Chief DC Haas.

There were no injuries, but at least three people were in the house when the fire started, Haas said.

Firefighters determined the fire was caused by an unattended candle in a back bedroom.

One of the home's occupants tried to fight the growing fire with a garden hose before firefighters arrived, but by that time the bedroom was fully involved, Haas said.

The house is close to a total loss.

"Damage is significant," Haas said. "It's an older house, and when the fire gets into the walls they burn quick, hot and fast."

The fire burned through hardware connecting power lines to the house, leaving live wires on the ground until the Flathead Electric Cooperative shut the power off.

Neighboring houses appeared to suffer no damage.

The fire department responded with three engines, two ambulances, and upwards of 15 firefighters, Haas said.

There was no dollar figure for the damage Tuesday afternoon, he said.