Bigfork High School evacuated following bomb threat

Bigfork High School has been evacuated and cleared following a bomb threat at the school, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office has reported.

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said a message left in the bathroom at Bigfork High School indicating a bomb threat was found earlier Friday morning. The school was closed for the remainder of the day and students were sent home.

Heino said 12 sheriff's deputies responded to the scene, as they were up-staffed around schools after Glacier High School in Kalispell went into a soft lockdown yesterday from threats that later turned out to be unsubstantiated.

According to an email from Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Micah Hill, officials at Glacier High School were made aware of a threat of school violence posted on the social media site TikTok that referenced "GHS." The post did not specifically mention Glacier High School or Kalispell. Upon further investigation, the district determined the threat was not credible.

Hill said the post could be traced to a nationwide TikTok challenge and that schools across the country with the abbreviation GHS were responding in a similar fashion, including Granger High School in Utah. The TikTok challenge encourages students to make false threats of violence as a way to get out of school.

Heino said the threat at Bigfork High School was internal and does not seem to be related to the TikTok trend. He said the threat is currently under investigation and no device was located.

Bigfork Superintendent Tom Stack sent out an advisory to parents immediately following the threat, noting students were being evacuated.

Stack said all activities for Bigfork High School have been canceled for the weekend.

This story will be updated as more information is available.