Fire claims Bigfork home

A Bigfork home suffered "extensive damage" in a fire that began New Year's Eve.

The fire at 240 Alpine Drive began as a chimney fire, according to Capt. Wayne Loeffler of the Bigfork Fire Department. From there, it spread to the walls, crept to the attic and went across the interior of the roof, he said.

The house was an older structure that had been added on to numerous times, said Rick Trembath, a Bigfork firefighter. Those remodels created several nooks for the flames to get into, and firefighters had a difficult time reaching all of them.

"It was tough to get to places," he said. "That accelerated the fire a little bit."

When the upper part of the house began to burn, Loeffler said, it was no longer safe to send firefighters inside. They used an excavator to remove some tin and give hoses access to some of the flames.

The main living quarters, including the kitchen area, are a total loss, Loeffler said.

Damage to the rest of the house was "extensive," Trembath said. The main floor wasn't structurally damaged in the fire, but it did receive "extensive water damage."

"They're definitely not going to be able to live in it," he said. "It's a loss from the standpoint of being able to live there."

Neither Trembath nor Loeffler knew if the homeowners would choose to rebuild. Loeffler would not give their names but did confirm that a family lived there. He didn't know how large the family is.

"It hit all of us hard," Trembath said. "That's just no way to start a new year with a family."

They did have a place to spend the rest of the night, Loeffler said; friends and family are taking care of them.

"They are going to contact the Red Cross tomorrow to look at getting the kids and themselves some clothes and things," he said.

According to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office dispatch log, the fire was reported at 6:22 p.m. Monday. More than 20 firefighters from Bigfork, Ferndale and Creston fire departments responded to the fire, Trembath said.

Many of them were released around 10 p.m., according to dispatch logs. Mop-up was complete around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com