1 killed in Hungry Horse structure fire

A woman died in a fire at a Hungry Horse residence Wednesday night.

The identity of the victim was not immediately known.

According to Hungry Horse Fire Department Captain Jared Lako, the trailer home on First Avenue was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived shortly after 8 p.m.

“It was a very intense, horrific fire,” Lako said. “It was shooting flames into the air and caught some trees nearby on fire, so we were dealing with that.”

Lako also said it burned the rear of a car parked at the residence and siding on a next-door home.

Incident commander Kirk Katzenmeyer, chief of the Bad Rock Fire Department, said flames initially were shooting 40 feet into the air.

“It was a very hot fire,” Katzenmeyer said.

The woman’s body was found near the back door, an indication that she may have been trying to escape. Firefighters are still investigating the exact cause of the fire, though Katzenmeyer said it appears to have started in the kitchen.

The woman had come home from a day on the Hungry Horse Reservoir and was apparently taking a nap, neighbors said.

The structure was a complete loss.

Lako lauded the response from neighboring departments, including Martin City, Coram Glacier and Bad Rock.

“With everything that was happening, it was an amazing turnout. We had to fight this fire from four different angles,” Lako said.

Fire danger in the Flathead is currently rated as “extreme.”

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.