Four structure fires in a single day is pretty notable, even by Butte standards.  Hell, four structure fires in a day is notable even in a major metropolitan area.  We had 4 within a 12 hour period.  Now, Butte has seen huge fires, some in the distant past and some so recent that you can still smell the smoke.  Nobody in the Mining City will forget that fateful day a few years back when a blaze took down perhaps the one building that personified Butte more than any other, the historic and beloved M&M.

Photo: Canva; TommyO/Townsquare Media
Photo: Canva; Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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Butte has seen historic fires. The Sears fire.  The Medical Arts Building Fire.  The Sportsman.  The Roadhouse.  The Irish Times.  Of course, there was the fire that took the remnants of the Columbia Gardens that still hits home.  But what hits home is when fires unexpectedly start popping up around town, taxing our first responders and putting a stress on neighbors.  That's what seems to be happening here in the Mining City.

Is it too early to say that these fires are the work of an arsonist or even that they are related?  Possibly.  But a series of recent police calls and responses to the 1400 block of Easy Street, the block on which the most recent fire broke out, raise several red flags.

Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Firefighters enter the structure on Easy Street.  Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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Fire-ravaged structure on Easy St. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Fire-ravaged structure on Easy St. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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Residents have reported being harassed and nearly assaulted by the resident of the house in question.  Last week, one false call to police resulted in a young family being forced out of their home, late at night, at gunpoint.  Residents have captured the person of interest spewing vulgarities on their doorbell cameras.  Before the fire?  A resident reported hearing an explosion while another saw a person walking from the scene of the fire. Time will tell where these leads will take local investigators.

Aftermath of the structure fire on Elizabeth Warren. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Aftermath of the structure fire on Elizabeth Warren. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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Early Sunday afternoon, a person was seen leaving the Easy Street location in handcuffs.

Information in the story was gathered from interviews and eyewitness accounts as well as information that is publically available.

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