Bigfork High School evacuated and cleared after bomb threat found in bathroom

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that Bigfork High School was evacuated and cleared after a bomb threat Friday morning. Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said a message left in the bathroom at Bigfork High School indicating a bomb threat was found that morning. The school was closed for the remainder of the day and students were sent home.

Heino said 12 sheriff deputies were able to respond to the scene, as they were upstaffed around schools after Glacier High School in Kalispell went into a soft lockdown Thursday from threats that later turned out to be unsubstantiated.

According to an email from Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Micah Hill, officials at Glacier High School were made aware of a threat of school violence posted on the social media site TikTok that referenced "GHS." The post did not specifically mention Glacier High School or Kalispell. Upon further investigation, the district determined the threat was not credible. Hill said the post could be traced to a nationwide TikTok challenge and that schools across the country with the abbreviation GHS were responding in a similar fashion, including Granger High School in Utah. The TikTok challenge encourages students to make false threats of violence as a way to get out of school.

Heino said the threat at Bigfork High School was internal and does not seem to be related to the TikTok trend. He said the threat is currently under investigation and there is no device located. They said they will provide updates as information becomes available.

Bigfork Superintendent Tom Stack sent out an advisory to parents immediately following the threat, noting students were being evacuated. Student staging was done at Harvest Foods to keep people clear from campus. All campuses remained closed on Friday. School reconvened this week before Christmas break starts on Thursday.