Crews smothered a large hay fire burning south of Kalispell after battling the blaze for upwards of eight hours.

The fire was first reported to South Kalispell Volunteer Fire Department at about 12:45 p.m., July 9. Firefighters arrived shortly after to find three haystacks ablaze in a field near the corner of Demersville Road and Foys Bend Lane.  

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, West Valley Fire and Rescue, Evergreen Fire Rescue and Smith Valley, Creston, Somers-Lakeside and Bigfork fire departments all provided mutual assistance in the subsequent hours. Crews remained through the night to monitor the site after extinguishing the fire around 9 p.m. 

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case as arson. It is the third time in the past week that a fire has broken out on the property. 

Landowner Sandy O’Connell said the first incident scorched a patch of land about 10 square feet in area. The second fire burned about 100 square feet before it was extinguished by firefighters. 

Stoked by strong winds, the fire on Wednesday afternoon engulfed more than 350 tons of hay and caused upwards of $125,000 in property damage. 

“It’s not just the fire,” said O’Connell. “It’s cleaning up after. They have to put out the fire so what do you do with 500 tons of soggy wet stuff?” 

Deputies placed one suspect, a 12-year-old boy, in custody near the scene of the fire. The Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on a second suspect, described as a white man in his mid-40s with a blue Toyota pickup. 

Lakeside Quick Response Unit treated two firefighters for heat-related injuries and one civilian for smoke inhalation related to the fire. 

“All parties are doing good and were not transported to the hospital,” according to a Facebook post from South Kalispell Volunteer Fire Department. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].