Four face charges in two arson incidents

Four people were arrested Thursday for intentionally setting fires in two buildings north of Somers.

Kelsi Marie Soto, 18, Chase Owens, 19, Lonnie Christopher Hubbard, 18, and Chase Bartley, 21, are being held in the Flathead County Detention Center pending felony arson charges from the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

The first fire occurred about 3:30 a.m. Thursday at a construction site near the intersection of Montana 82 and Hard Rock Road, said Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert.

Deputies responding to reports of suspicious activity found a small fire burning in a partially built structure, reportedly the future home of Wall to Wall Tile, he said.

Lumber from the site had been piled up against a corner of the building's frame and ignited, according to Somers Fire Department Chief Rich Boon. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze within a few minutes of arrival. Investigators found an empty five gallon gas can and four used firework containers at the scene.

"There was minimal damage to that one," said Boon. "It wasn't a rapid flame spread."

A witness reported seeing a group of people talking and making noise outside the building, feeding the fire, and then leaving in a turquoise Dodge Neon, said Wingert.

While conducting a 4 a.m. patrol for the suspects' car, deputies came across a metal-sided barn with about nine tons of alfalfa hay burning on Wiley Dike Road.

The Somers Fire Department extinguished the blaze in about two hours, but the barn suffered some structural damage, said Boon. The barn's owner was able to provide a front-end loader to help remove burning hay and minimize damage to the structure, he said.

"When hay starts burning, it's tough to put out until you drag it out of the building," he said. "Without equipment on a hay fire it's nearly impossible to put out."

An older Ford pickup truck in the barn suffered minor damage, but other farm equipment was unscathed.

Deputies continued searching for the Dodge Neon, eventually locating it early Thursday morning at the Lower Valley Road river access. Four suspects bolted from the vehicle, but deputies found Soto hiding in some nearby bushes. Owens, Hubbard, and Bartley were arrested Thursday afternoon.

Alcohol was involved, according to investigators.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com