Investigators home in on cause of fire at old mill

LIBBY — The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and a state fire marshal still are investigating the cause of the fire that burned the former Stimson Lumber Co., plywood plant to the ground on Thursday.

The area of origin has been determined, a fire investigator said Monday.

“According to witness statements and what we found, it [the fire’s origin] is in the plywood plant close to where the concrete vats were,” sheriff’s deputy and fire investigator Kirk Kraft said. “It was on the north end of the building.”

Contractor J.T. Welding and Construction had begun the task last fall of demolishing three-fourths of the massive 4.7-acre building.

“The whole idea was to salvage and recycle as much material as possible,” said Paul Rumelhart, executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council, which manages the industrial site.

The demolition crew had been working Friday in the area where the fire started, Kraft said, and left around 5 or 5:30 p.m. Kraft declined to say whether the crew was using welding equipment.

Kraft said on Monday that the investigation would be complete today or Wednesday.

“We’re continuing to eliminate possible causes as we go,” he said.

Libby firefighters were called to the fire at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, but by the time they arrived three minutes later, the massive building was engulfed in flames.

The fire left little to salvage out of the businesses that were using the building, but no one was hurt and no homes caught fire.

Troy firefighters assisted the Libby Volunteer Fire Department in containing the fire so that it wouldn’t spread to homes.

Larry Chapel, Troy Volunteer Fire Department chief, praised Libby firefighters.

“Libby did a very good job of keeping control of the entire situation,” Chapel said. “It was very well handled.”

The Cabinet View Fire Department was on standby in case another fire broke out in Libby. Fisher River Valley Fire and Rescue was ready to back up Cabinet View if needed, Marion firefighters were prepared to back up Fisher River, and Smith Valley firefighters were ready to help Marion.

“Across county lines, agencies and fire departments pulled together when something bad happened,” said Dan Leavell, Cabinet View Fire Department chief. “It was really neat. The community ought to be proud.”