St. Mary's Catholic Church, a complete loss after fire Saturday

St. Mary's Catholic Church, a historic and sentimental landmark on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, was considered a complete loss after flames consumed the structure.

The fire started this morning, Rocky Boy Volunteer Fire Department receiving a call at 10:21 a.m., Rocky Boy Fire Chief Calvin Jilot. He added that the initial report stated that the fire had originated in the kitchen of the church, but, unfortunately, quickly spread throughout the entire building. The cause of the fire has not been determined, but no one was injured in the fire.

He said that his crew had a great response time to the fire and but because of the large amount of flames and the electricity inside of the church entering the building was not an option.

"My guys did exactly what they were trained to do," he said. "... There was nothing we could do for it."

In addition to Rocky Boy Volunteer Fire Department, crews from Wildland Fire Preparedness and Suppression Agency, the Chippewa Cree Tribe Natural Resources Department and the Box Elder Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation aided in fighting the fire, Jilot said.

He added that Rocky Boy had five 300 gallon pump trucked and one 1,500 gallon pump truck, DNRC had brought three trucks to provide water and also provided a water source for Rocky Boy's engines, because the church has no hydrants in the area. Rocky Boy also has 12 to 15 volunteers helping fight the fire.

Jilot said at about 1 p.m. that the fire was under control. He added that Hill County Electric Co-Op Inc. has disconnected the power to the building and the next few hours of the day Rocky Boy will be working on cleaning up and putting out hot spots.

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Look for more in Monday's edition of the Havre Daily News.