No clues yet in Rathdrum fire

The owner of a Rathdrum, Idaho, business that was destroyed by fire Wednesday evening plans to rebuild.

In the meantime, it’s almost business as usual.

As investigators combed the burned-out building trying to find the cause of the fire, workers at Brix Pallet Co. used generators and electricity from a neighboring home to keep working.

A neighbor reported the blaze about 7 p.m. Wednesday. The large Quonset-hut building, filled with machinery and stacks of wooden pallets, was consumed by flames by the time fire crews arrived, according to Dean Marcus, fire marshal for Northern Lakes Fire District.

Marcus said fire crews were concerned about all the potential fuel surrounding the building – stacks of hundreds more pallets – and the threat to a neighboring trailer park. Instead of focusing first on the building, Marcus said crews worked to keep the fire from spreading.

Within an hour, Marcus said the fire was under control. The cause hasn’t been determined.

“We’re looking for something. Anything,” Marcus said. “There’s plenty of stuff in there to burn, but what got it started?”

Owner Ken Clyatt said he plans to tear down the building and construct a new facility. The 5-year-old business, located at the end of Rathdrum’s Main Street, has 13 employees.

“The fire department did an absolutely great job,” Clyatt said. “They kept it from burning any other buildings.”

Sabrina Wasson and her sisters, residents of the neighboring Willow Creek Trailer Park, were walking home from Zip’s Drive-In, eating ice cream cones, when they spotted the fire.

“All of a sudden I saw a big cloud of smoke,” the 11-year-old said. “We thought it was a dust storm. Then we saw the big flames.”

Clyatt estimated damage to the building at $60,000.