Firefighters from across Kalispell responded to a fire at the Quality Inn on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, that sent plumes of smoke across the nearby highway.
Kalispell Fire Chief Dan Pearce tells MTN News the fire was accidentally started by a plumber who was soldering inside the hotel.
The Kalispell Police Department arrived on the scene shortly after the call was received and evacuated everyone in the hotel and surrounding buildings.
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The plumber that caused the fire was hired to do work at the hotel. The fire originally caught a wall on fire where it spread to the attic. Flames then engulfed the attic and the roof collapsed.
It was unsafe for firefighters to be in the building so they attacked the fire from the outside using ladder trucks.
The fire caused a power outage that affected 2,000 people in the West Kalispell and Kila areas. Stoplights in the area of the fire were out causing massive traffic jams.
At this time, no injuries have been reported and no other structures have been damaged.
