STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Firefighters have just finished mopping up after a fire at the Sun Valley Inn.
The fire appeared to have started in the electrical box in the basement of the building, which houses the Camas and Lupine rooms, said one of the construction workers working on the inn remodel. The rooms are on the south wing of the inn.
“One of the guys saw the smoke and yelled, ‘Fire!’ and everyone got out of there!” he said.
The fire was reported about 11:30 a.m., said Sun Valley Fire Chief Taan Robrahn, as he prepared to exit the scene at 1 p.m. And at least four trucks from Sun Valley Fire Department and Ketchum Fire Department responded.
Robrahn said the fire appeared to be confined to an electrical box.
Fortunately, Sun Valley Resort had equipped construction workers with fire extinguishers and trained them how to use the extinguishers, said firefighter Reid Black.
The fire is under investigation, said Robrahn. But it appears minor enough that it shouldn’t hold up construction too much, he added.
Even as he talked, workers resumed installing pavers near the historic arch that cars and buss used to drive through.
The arch was cut out as part of the inn remodeling project that will remodel 75 guestrooms.
This is at least the fourth fire at Sun Valley Resort since April when a major fire caused more than $1 million damage to the Warm Springs Lodge. Lightning struck a haystack near the Sun Valley Horseman Center, creating a commotion and leaving a bit of a stench just before the start of the symphony season.
And a mower caught on fire on the College Boulevard ski run on Bald Mountain in September.