You are here

Fire at Historic Many Glacier Chalet at Glacier National Park

Share
Fire trucks outside the chalet.

Firefighters responded to a call at the historic Many Glacier Chalet. NPS photo.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 3, 2009, rangers at Glacier National Park received a report of smoke coming from the historic Many Glacier Chalet at Glacier National Park. The building, also known as the winter caretaker’s residence, is not the same structure as the magnificent Many Glacier Hotel, which is located nearby.

According to a report from the park,

The fire was reported by a concession employee who is currently residing at the chalet. Upon arrival, rangers saw smoke coming out of the back door. They interviewed the resident and determined that there were no injuries and that no one was left inside.

The Babb Volunteer Fire Department arrived and firefighters entered the structure wearing self contained breathing apparatus with a charged line. They quickly contained the fire to one room and extinguished the blaze. One room in the chalet was damaged by flames; a damage estimate is pending.

An FBI fire investigator has been contacted and will investigate the fire’s origin. Without the assistance of the Babb VFD, the chalet would most likely have been destroyed. Chief Mountain District ranger John Piastuck served as the park incident commander and is coordinating the investigation and follow-up.

The caretaker cabin is one of two remaining buildings left from the Many Glacier Chalets that were built by the Great Northern Railway in 1913, prior to construction of the Many Glacier Hotel. The Many Glacier Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

To the extent that the timing of a fire can be said to be fortuitous, it's probably a good thing this same incident didn't occur less than a week ago, when a major spring snowstorm dumped several feet of snow on the area, making travel very difficult.

Comments

That's a pretty famous little cabin in Glacier. I always end up hanging out by it when doing photographs of Swiftcurrent Lake.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.