Arson suspected in arena fire

The Majestic Valley Arena caught fire early Saturday morning, canceling a Wrangler TeamRoping Championships event that would have hosted 600 to 700 teams.

The cause of the fire was suspicious, said Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, who has a county team investigating the fire as a possible arson.

The arena, which is 55,750 square feet, is located on U.S. 93 about six miles north of Kalispell.

Most of the damage was done to the front portion of the building, which is mostly office space, West Valley Fire Chief Russ Sappington said.

The West Valley Fire Department received the call at 5:37 a.m.

“The main fire itself was knocked down in about 20 minutes,” Sappington said. “But it got into some open gaps between the front of the building and the interior wall, so we had to get in there and get those hot spots out.”

The fire was completely out by 7 a.m., Sappington said. West Valley Fire was assisted by the Kalispell, South Kalispell, Smith Valley and Evergreen fire departments as well as the Sheriff’s Office.