Suspect interviewed in Evergreen fire; cigarette is suspected cause

Authorities believe it may have been a cigarette that ignited a fire that torched 10 buildings and 6.5 acres in the middle of an Evergreen neighborhood on Wednesday.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Department has been talking to a man who could have caused the devastating blaze.

“We did interview somebody last night,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said on Thursday. “We did determine the point of origin in the fire and did conduct an interview of a male transient last night.”

Little is known about the man at this point. Curry said he isn’t being held in jail, but the Flathead County Attorney’s Office could bring charges within days.

What is clear is that the fire was sparked at around 4 p.m. Wednesday amid a group of sheds on Mountain View Drive. Gusty winds carried the flames across a grass lot and into a neighboring property, resulting in the loss of the main home.

In total, seven out-buildings and three homes were lost.

Evergreen Fire Rescue Chief Craig Williams said he was first to report the plume rising from the Evergreen neighborhood. He was out on a vehicle accident call when it happened.

It took a massive response from Flathead Valley fire departments to keep the flames from spreading to more homes. With a large grass lot in the middle of the fire, Williams said the response was a mix of wildland and structure fire suppression.

“The tactics needed to be coordinated to address both issues,” he said.

Through heavy smoke and flames, personnel from 12 agencies responded to the fire. Two helicopters made rounds overhead to drop water on the area.

Embers rose from the fire and carried in the wind. Williams said one spot fire sparked a mile from the main incident. It was extinguished by one of the helicopters.

Evergreen Fire Rescue commanded the response through Williams. Other agencies included departments from Kalispell, South Kalispell, Somers-Lakeside, West Valley, Columbia Falls, Creston, Bigfork, Smith Valley and the U.S. Forest Service. 

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation provided air support with the helicopter, and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office assisted.

Through all the destruction, nobody was seriously injured. Williams said that a couple of minor injuries were reported.

Williams and Curry commended the mutual-aid response in the incident. Less than two hours into battling the fire, crews had stopped flames from reaching the next neighbor to the north. 

“The fire certainly had the potential to be much, much worse had the efforts not been what they were and as quickly as they were,” Curry said.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.