Farm house burned down as training exercise

Residents of the West Valley area may have noticed the recent disappearance of a certain farm house, but its vanishing act was by design.

The home at the intersection of Farm to Market Road and West Reserve Drive was used throughout the last month by the Smith Valley and South Kalispell fire departments for training exercises, culminating in a live fire exercise Saturday morning.

“We trained on second-level entry with our aerial and did first-level entry and search with smoke and live fire,” West Valley Fire Chief Russell Sappington said. “The owners wanted it taken to the ground on Saturday, so we did.”

Sappington said more live fire training exercises are unlikely to take place until at least the fall.

“Things are getting a little dry out here,” he said. “We don’t want to add fuel to the fire, so to speak.”