Firefighters respond to house fire and bale blaze

Polson Rural Fire District responded to two fires last week. The first, on June 19, was near Buffalo Bridge where firefighters found 110 round bales fully engulfed in flames. The second was Friday when a three-story house on Dogwood Lane was reportedly struck by lightning.

The first incident was called in at around 10 p.m. last Thursday, but without a clear location. Four fire stations responded, each taking a different route, and located the burning bales near Pickett Road.

“The immediate threat was to contain the fire to the stack as the grass was beginning to be involved, with gusts of wind approaching 20 mph on the scene,” reports Polson Rural Chief Will Woodger. Containment lines were established around the stack, and the CSKT Division of Fire arrived with a bulldozer to help pile the bales into a more manageable heap.

“With the dozer’s aid we were able to pile the hay bales and allow them to safely burn without risk of any additional spread,” Woodger said.

Eleven apparatus and 22 firefighters responded, and the bales were deemed a complete loss. The blaze was monitored until the following morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

On Friday at around 11 p.m., Polson Rural and Polson City fire departments were dispatched to a blaze on Dogwood Lane, north of Polson, reportedly caused by a lightning strike.

While enroute, the Lake County 911 center advised units that a resident was trapped on the third floor. With help from a neighbor, the first units to arrive on the scene threw a ladder to the homeowner, who was able to escape and confirmed that no one remained in the structure.

“We found heavy fire throughout the garage, and second and third floors, along with several vehicles on fire around the house,” Woodger reports.

Fire units were able to keep the fire from spreading to the basement and half of the second and third floors, before moving to interior areas that were deemed safe. By then, a large portion of the roof had collapsed. While some contents were salvaged, Woodger said the structure is considered a total loss.

Chief Cliff Fire was asked to bring two more water tenders to enhance the water supply. In all, Woodger says Rural Fire responded with seven vehicles, the City of Polson added four, and Chief Cliff brought 3; roughly 35 firefighters were on the scene, which was monitored until around 8 a.m.

The cause of the house fire is also under investigation, although Woodger said the two fires don’t appear to be connected.

The chief expressed his appreciation to Polson City Fire, Chief Cliff Fire, Polson Ambulance, Lake County Sheriff's Office, 911 Dispatch and Mission Valley Power for lending a hand during Friday’s blaze; and CSKT Division of Fire and Montana State DNRC for giving additional support Thursday night.  

    Polson Rural Fire District responded to a fire near Buffalo Bridge last Thursday night that consumed 110 bales. (Courtesy photo)