Fire knocks out radio station’s transmitter building near Creston

A fire engulfed local radio station KOFI’s AM transmitter building early Saturday morning.

The fire occurred between 1 and 2 a.m. at a transmitter station on Steel Bridge Road, said KOFI co-owner and General Manager Dave Rae. The 50,000 watt transmitter housed within the building that allowed the community to tune into AM 1180 was destroyed.  

KOFI is headquartered in an office on First Avenue East in downtown Kalispell. The station plays hits from the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, and runs weekly hosted shows.  

Rae called the fire devastating.  

“The building is toast,” he said. 

Rae said no one was in the building when the fire broke out. It is only occasionally accessed for maintenance.  

The cause of the fire is unknown, Rae said. But he suspects equipment failure.  

The damages leave Rae no choice but to find a new building and equipment.   

Listeners can still tune into the station at FM 104.3. A KOFI engineer is working to set up a low-power transmitter for the station as of Monday. 

Creston Fire Department arrived at the transmitter building shortly after 2:38 a.m., said Creston Fire Chief Gary Mahugh. The flames were contained to the building within a few minutes. 

The 14 firefighters, including a crew from the Evergreen Fire Department, which dispatched an engine, were able to save the basement and equipment outside of the building. Mahugh said the team had to wait for Flathead Electric Cooperative to turn off power inside the building before the fire could be put out.  

Firefighters left the scene at 7:30 a.m. 

“When they got there it was fully engulfed,” he said.