Juvenile faces arson charge for store fire

A 15-year-old male from Whitefish has

been arrested and charged with felony arson for the April 3 fire at

the Stumptown Thrift Store on Baker Avenue.

According to Whitefish Police Lt.

Bridger Kelch, Casey Ehrlick admitted being at the scene but denied

setting the fire. Eyewitnesses and video surveillance indicate that

Ehrlick was in the area and had in his possession

“instrumentalities of the crime,” the police said in a press

release.

The fire caused an estimated $125,000

in damages, and a resident in an upstairs apartment “had to run

through the flames barefoot to escape,” the press release

states.

Ehrlick is also a suspect in a trash

can fire that occurred earlier in the evening near Riverside Park.

He’s being held in the Flathead County Juvenile Detention Center on

a $5,000 bond. He was a student at Whitefish High School.