Majestic Valley Arena fire was arson

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the Majestic Valley Arena fire on Jan. 3 was arson.

“We’re still working on it,” sheriff Chuck Curry said. “We have some leads we’re following up on, but during an active investigation we don’t usually get into what specifics led us to believe that. But it’s been confirmed that it is an arson fire.”

The fire was first reported about 6 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Most of the damage occurred in the office area near the front of the 55,750-square-foot arena.

A Wrangler Team Roping Championship event that would have hosted 600 to 700 teams was canceled after one day of competition on Friday. The Cinch Winter Rodeo Series event scheduled for Jan. 10-11 has also been canceled as a result of the fire.

“The actual arena we think is going to be fine,” Majestic Valley Arena manager Lynne Undraitis said. “We won’t know for at least another week when things can go on and how much the damage is going to be. But we’re working hard and trying to get everything ready to go. We’ve had a lot of people help out, and Majestic Valley Arena would like to thank all of the community for their support.”