Fireworks blamed for $250,000 fire

A young boy playing with fireworks started a fire east of Ronan that caused $250,000 in damage to a shop and apartment.

Ronan Fire Chief Mark Clary said that firefighters were called at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, about the time emergency services coordinators were issuing an emergency declaration to prohibit the use of fireworks due to the recent hot, dry weather.

Clary says a 5- or 6-year-old boy admitted throwing fireworks into a bush. The fire spread to a large shop that also contained an apartment. The renters escaped through the windows. Clary says it appears they lost all of their belongings in the fire.

No one was injured.