MISSOULA — A University of Montana-owned apartment building was heavily damaged by fire on Monday morning, causing evacuations and a large fire and police presence in the area.
UM communications director Dave Kuntz says everyone who lived in the unit was accounted for.
He believes just the one apartment burned but there is smoke and water damage to some surrounding units.
The unit is on Yreka Court off South Avenue in Missoula.
The call came in around 10:30 a.m. and a large plume of black smoke could be seen around town as fire crews doused the scene to get it under control.
At one point, crews cut a hole in the roof to get to the flames, and both the upper and lower floors of the unit were virtually destroyed.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
(second report: 1:14 p.m. - January 22, 2024)
Crews remain on the scene of a fire in an apartment complex on Yreka Court in Missoula.
The Missoula Fire Department reports the fire has been "knocked down."
Our reporter at the scene reports the upper and lower floors in one unit were heavily damaged.
There appears to be smoke damage in some of the other nearby apartments that serve as University of Montana housing.
There is no word on the cause of the fire at this time.
Fire officials say that a dog died in the fire.
A section of South Avenue East between the 300 block and 500 block — near the UM golf course — has reopened to traffic.
- information from Jill Valley included in this report.
(first report: 10:56 a.m. - January 22, 2023)
Emergency crews are battling a structure fire off of South Avenue East in Missoula.
A large plume of smoke can be seen coming from the area.
The Missoula Fire Department is on the scene.
The blaze is burning on Yreka Court near the UM golf course.
- Developing story. Check back for updates.
