BUTTE – Local and federal investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a Butte tire warehouse and its estimated $2 million inventory.
Butte-Silver Bow Fire Marshal John Lasky says the north wall of the building will be torn down, allowing investigators inside the Whalen Tire Distribution Center.
Lasky says the fire, which started early Thursday, caused $1.7 million in damages to the contents and $500,000 in damage to the five-floor brick building. But Tike Whalen, president of Whalen Tire, says those figures are still being determined and the losses may be greater.
Local police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are assisting in the investigation.
Jeff Miller, director of fire services for the city-county government, says arson was the cause of two other fires that started in the hours after the warehouse fire was reported.