Questions linger after weekend fire

KOOTENAI — Questions outnumbered answers Monday as officials probed the cause of a structure fire on North Main Street last weekend.

The fire caused significant damage to the modular home on Saturday. The home’s residents were out of state when the fire broke out and there were no injuries.

Authorities declined to confirm initial reports that the home had been burglarized and intentionally set ablaze.

“It’s still up in the air what caused this fire,” said Bonner County Sheriff’s Lt. Doug Harris.

Harris said several pieces of potential evidence were gathered after the fire, but said he had not been advised as to what those items were yet. Some of the evidence will be sent to the Idaho State Police forensics lab for analysis.

The fire was reported at 5:39 p.m., according to Bonner Dispatch records.

“It’s still under investigation at this point,” Northside Fire Chief Brad Mitton said on Monday.

Mitton said the fire was largely contained to a single room, although heat and smoke caused further damage to the one-story structure.

“It was a great effort,” Mitton said of the response from Northside, the sheriff’s office and Bonner County EMS.

“I’m not sure the home is a complete loss,” said the home’s resident, who expressed doubt that she would continue to live there.

A man who claimed to be a fire investigator but declined to give his name interrupted a phone interview with one of the home’s occupants and referred inquiries about the fire to the sheriff’s office.

Mitton, meanwhile, is asking passersby who took photographs of the fire to share them see if they can help shed more light on the incident. Those with photos of the fire are asked to call Northside Fire at 265-4114.