An iconic North Idaho restaurant caught fire late Monday afternoon, drawing a massive wave of first responders and sending smoke into the skies above Post Falls.

Firefighters from four stations converged on GW Hunters after a 4:17 p.m. call to 9-1-1 reported heavy smoke coming from the longtime Spokane Street restaurant near the Interstate 90 off-ramp. Newly-annointed Kootenai County Fire and Rescue chief Dan Ryan said the fire was extinguished roughly 20 minutes later.

“We like to hit them with a lot,” Ryan said. “We like to make sure it’s out.”

Ryan reported 17 firefighters — as well as four engine chiefs and a fire truck apiece from Northern Lakes and Hauser Lake — broke out GW Hunters’s windows to ventilate the building.

“Hauser Lake was actually here to lend a hand for us in case another call came in,” he said.

The fire was contained in the attic space, Ryan said, but the restaurant didn’t escape unscathed.

“At this time, it doesn’t look like it made its way to the main restaurant space,” he said. “But the restaurant space itself suffered pretty significant smoke and water damage.”

GW Hunters was closed for the afternoon, as it is most Mondays, so the building was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out.

The cause remains under investigation.

“We’re going to be here a while in case there are any flare-ups or hot spots,” Ryan said.