By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – A Sunday afternoon fire in Saddle Butte rendered a three-stall barn a total loss.
Property co-owner Christy Edmonds received notice of the fire sometime between 4:30 PM-5 PM, when a Hill County Sheriff came to her family’s house to notify them.
By that time, neighbors were already at the scene working to put out the fire.
The Havre Fire Department received word of the fire, located on the 2500 block of 36th Street Southeast, at 4:56 PM. Along with Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department, they worked to get the fire under control.
Wind caused the fire to spread to grass, but it blew towards the road rather than any other buildings. The fire, which was only a few acres in size, only burned on Edmonds’ land.
Edmonds says the fire was mostly out by 6:45 PM, although crews remained on the scene until 8 PM to dig through ash and make sure it didn’t spark back up.
No one was injured and there was no livestock in the barn, which was being used to store property. Items in the barn included an ice house, a riding lawn mower, horse tacks and other tools.
Edmonds says no one had been in the barn since Friday, and there wasn’t anything flammable in it.
The property owners do have insurance on the barn.
A cause of the fire has not been determined.
Officials with the Havre Fire Department were not available on Monday morning to provide additional details.
