Fire kills eight pigs at Kalispell vo-ag center

At least eight pigs are dead after a pig enclosure burned down early Wednesday morning at the H.E. Robinson Agricultural Education Center on FFA Drive in south Kalispell.

“A neighbor had woke up at about 4 this morning and could see it from his window, thought it was a grass fire and called it in,” South Kalispell Fire Chief Chris Yerkes said Wednesday.

The enclosure that burned was about 10 feet wide and 110 feet long, Yerkes estimated, and may have housed 11 pigs. Yerkes said the survival of two pigs was questionable while another pig was missing.

Firefighters responded again at about 9:40 a.m. to mop up a couple of hot spots.

“This is pretty emotional for the students who look after, care for, feed and show these animals,” Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Darlene Schottle said.

Schottle said the fire started when a heat lamp in the pen area fell and set straw on fire.

“It appears to just have been a very unfortunate accident,” Schottle said. “One of the staff members went out with a fire inspector to make sure there was nothing else we needed to do for the safety of the building.”

Schottle said the cost to repair the pen structure is estimated to be under $5,000, but she wasn’t yet able to determine the value of the dead pigs that were being raised by agriculture students.

The pig enclosure is part of the vo-ag center that involves students from Flathead and Glacier high schools.