Car catches fire while on the move

Kalispell Police Department responded to a vehicle fire on Treeline Road and U.S. 93 North. Flames and smoke were visible from under the hood of the moving car. Everyone safely got out of the car and the fire was put out.

Dispatchers overhead yelling between two drivers when someone called from First Street West and South Main Street to report that a car reportedly came to a “dead stop” on the highway, ran a red light and nearly hit multiple vehicles.

Things weren’t so amusing at the fairgrounds when someone on Meridian Road said their boss, who goes by the nickname “Hoss,” assaulted a man by allegedly punching him in the face and breaking one of the man’s fingers. The caller said his employees were scared to speak out against “Hoss.”

A frustrated woman on Third Avenue East North vented to dispatchers that a transient was in the area and she was “sick of it.” She was concerned that he would ask her for money or may have weapons, but didn’t see any. The woman also said a transient had previously “pulled a knife on her” near North Main Street demanding she give him something to drink, so her daughter gave him a Coke and he left. While she did not report it at the time, she wanted to complain about the ongoing problem with transients. She hung up on dispatchers before giving further information.

Someone in front of a U.S. 93 South business was with a crying boy who said that a man threatened his sister at their home by saying he would kill her “if she didn’t give him the keys” and reportedly cocked a gun.

A driver on Idaho Street told police of his concern about a flashing sign that read “Stop” at a business. The man pushed on his brakes, mistaking the sign for a legitimate road sign. Police decided it was “probably not the best choice for a sign,” but nothing could be done about it legally other than advise the store owner of the complaint.

A woman in a camouflage hat unsuccessfully attempted to shoplift a cart full of “stuff” when she ran from a Hutton Ranch Road store.

A man on Second Street East and Woodland Avenue reported that his friend’s girlfriend chased his friend down and maced him after the two got into an argument before leaving together in a car. The caller said he was worried about the woman who reportedly had cuts and cysts all over her arm.

A man out walking with his wife on Fourth Avenue East said a man in a vehicle stopped in the road, got out and attacked them.

A transient woman carrying a backpack and potted plant (who “appears to be out there”) was reported by someone on Eighth Avenue East North.

This year’s fire season is just too hot to handle for someone who called Lake County Sheriff’s Office asking to file a complaint against the U.S. Forest Service for “creating a public health hazard by letting fires burn in the Cabinets.”

It was trouble in paradise for a girl and her boyfriend when he was kicked off a raft by two girls while floating down the Kootenai River. The girlfriend wanted officers to keep an eye on her car parked about two hours away because she left the keys inside.

A woman on Crest Street reported five horses/donkeys were in her yard.

Columbia Falls Police Department received a report from Fourth Avenue West of a man driving an “old” and “beat up” yellow truck acting suspiciously when he kept stopping in front of people and harassing them.

Someone on Diane Road wanted information logged when his neighbor told him she had a gun. Perhaps in a related report, extra patrol was requested on Diane Road because of someone having ongoing issues with neighbors.

A concerned mother told Whitefish Police Department, that a man was harassing her 13-year-old daughter, asking her to marry him while she was visiting the library.

Someone in Whitefish will never win a prize for guessing ages after calling police to report a small, possibly 5-year-old boy sitting under a tree by himself near Fifth Avenue and Baker. It turned out the boy was about 10- to 12-years-old and was just fine on his own.

Barking upset someone on Fox Hollow Lane who reported that a “compound” located behind a yellow house was “full of dogs” and barking was an ongoing issue.

A fight on Central Avenue left at least one person bleeding.

Kalispell Fire Department responded to a power line emergency on East Idaho Street.

—Compiled by Inter Lake reporter Hilary Matheson.