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Kalispell woman charged with felony arson

by Hilary Matheson Daily Inter Lake
| August 16, 2017 8:22 PM

A Kalispell woman is in jail after allegedly setting a neighbor’s house on fire out of anger.

Wendy Jane Concha has been charge with felony arson.

According to court documents, residents of Hoffman Draw in Kalispell reported a neighbor’s trailer home on fire at 1:08 a.m. Aug. 12. A man indicated that he allegedly could see a woman smashing windows of a vehicle and screaming that she “hoped the residence would burn.”

The house was engulfed in flames by the time a Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the location. The officer allegedly saw Concha standing nearby and approached her to determine if anyone else was possibly still in the home. She reportedly was evasive and walked away from the deputy, appearing intoxicated, court documents stated. The deputy detained Concha and smelled a flammable liquid allegedly coming from wet spots on her shirt.

Concha reportedly admitted to purposely setting the trailer home on fire after becoming angry with the homeowner.

The deputy learned Concha was on probation and was advised by an on-call probation officer to search her belongings. The deputy found a white pill contained in an unmarked pill bottle, preliminarily identifying it as acetaminophen/hydrocodone.

The pill was sent to Montana State Crime Lab to be analyzed.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.