Cause of massive Libby fire remains unresolved

LIBBY — Though some potential causes have been ruled out for the massive fire that leveled the former plywood plant in Libby last February, the investigation recently concluded with more questions than answers.

The fire is believed to have started in the back of the building adjacent to a glue room where fiberglass insulation had been stored.

Investigators have ruled out heavy machinery and electrical equipment as potential causes, according to fire investigator Kirk Kraft of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

That conclusion discredits rumors that a demolition crew unintentionally caused the Feb. 26 fire with the use of torching equipment, but the investigation still indicates that the fire likely was human-caused.

“Electrical was eliminated. Lightning was eliminated. Heavy equipment and electrical equipment, power tools, cutting torches, burn barrels — we eliminated all of those as causes, as it states in the report,” Kraft said during a phone interview.

The fire investigation team, consisting of Kraft and deputy state fire marshal Dawn Drollinger, talked to a group of stakeholders last week at the scene on Port Authority property.

Paul Rumelhart, executive director of Kootenai River Development Co., which manages the land, said he was disappointed.

“It was human-caused and they don’t know which human,” he said. “We were hoping for a more definite identity of what caused it, who caused it, what accelerant was used, but it came out that we don’t know.”

The Montana State Crime Lab recently released test results that revealed no liquid accelerants — such as gasoline — on items collected at the fire’s believed area of origin.

The results could imply that it was not an act of arson, although a statement from the Sheriff’s Office Monday said: “At this time, it cannot be determined if the fire was intentionally or unintentionally set. Lacking any new information this case is considered closed.”

The fire caused millions of dollars in damage, reduced a 4.7-acre structure to ashes, burned up machinery and inventory, and spewed asbestos-containing roofing material into neighborhoods.

The investigation could be reopened at any time.

“If more information came that is substantial and needs to be investigated,” Kraft said, “of course we would do that.”