Soldier Mountain owner planned new ski lodge, just not so soon; fire under investigation

The ski resort is owned by actor Bruce Willis' company Valley Entertainment Group. It operates under a special-use permit by the U.S. Forest Service.

The resort's lodge was totally destroyed in a blaze Monday, and so was the nearby ski shop.

Shelly Scott, a spokeswoman for the resort, said it's too soon to talk about re-building. Building a new lodge was part of a master plan for the resort, but they'd planned to wait until skier visits had grown from the current 16,000 per year to about 30,000 per year.

"We'll just kind of see what the insurance is ... We'll have to decide if we want to build something similar or if we want to build something larger," Scott said.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

"It was a big surprise for a Monday," Scott said.

Scott said employees were at the lodge Sunday, closing the site down for the season. Fire officials told Scott they believed the fire might have started at the north end of the building, the side that has a fireplace.

"There was a fire in the fireplace yesterday. They checked before they left and felt it was out," Scott said.

Fairfield is about an hour from Sun Valley. Soldier Mountain Ski Resort is key part of Fairfield's economy during the winter. The city of 450 relies heavily on tourists who come to the area to ski and snowmobile.

Fairfield Mayor David Hanks says the lodge at Soldier Mountain was already destroyed when firefighters arrived on scene at the ski resort, which is about 12 miles from the city.

The siren went off shortly before 8 a.m., Hanks said.

"The last I heard, they were trying to save part of the ski shop," said Hanks, who was on his way to Billings, Mont., when news of the fire spread. It's unclear how long the fire was burning. The all-volunteer fire department was on scene all morning.

"It's always been an icon," Mayor Hanks said of the ski resort. "It's one thing in the community that stands out. That's usually what comes up when people think about Fairfield. It's something that's very important to our community and how we survive."

Scott said the resort employed about 50 people this winter.

"During the winter time they are very instrumental in keeping our downtown businesses open," Hanks said.

A bus from Twin Falls brings skiers to the resort daily during the winter, Hanks said.

"It's a great little mom-and-pop resort," Hanks said. "It's very inexpensive and very family-friendly, the kind of place where for $100, you can take a family of four to ski and eat."

Katy Moeller: 377-6413