CHEWELAH, Wash. — A large commercial fire that broke out early Friday morning in Chewelah has destroyed a 100-year-old building that housed an Ace Hardware. According to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, the fire forced almost the entire city to shelter in place.
Onlookers near the scene of the fire reported hearing explosions as the fire ripped through the building.
Authorities say as of a little before 2:30 am on Friday the fire has been contained and no injuries had been reported.
When KREM 2 arrived on the scene Friday morning there were still small flames burning inside the brick building.
The Stevens County Sheriff's Office says people should still avoid downtown Chewelah as authorities continue to clean up the fire. They added that road closures will remain in effect for some time.
Ace Hardware before and after Friday's fire
WATCH RELATED: Chewelah man recovers lost flag of late veteran grandfather
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.