Times-News

An early fire this morning at Soldier Mountain Ski Resort north of Fairfield has destroyed the resort's historic lodge as well as the ski rental shop.

Both buildings are being listed by fire officials as a complete loss. No one was injured in the blaze, officials said.

Soldier Mountain Ski Resort is owned by film star Bruce Willis, a resident of Hailey. The resort's last day of skiing operations was on Saturday.

Camas County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brian Miller said the first calls of smoke came in around 7:32 a.m., with all Camas County firefighting units responding to the scene.

"The lodge was completely gone, and the ski rental building's probably completely gone, too," said Miller, who was at the site this morning. "It had probably been burning for quite some time before anyone noticed."

The lodge's foundation and chimney were the only portions of the building still visible as crews finally contained the fire. Metal beams were all that remained from the rental shop. Snow still covered the ground at the resort, where crews doused the structures with flame retardant.

"If they'd had a remote fire alarm like the school has, we could possible have saved the rental shop," said Wayne Marolf, fire chief for the Fairfield-Camas County Fire Department. Marolf said the lodge was the first building to burn.

Resort manager Larry Davenport said the lodge, built in 1946, was a key feature to the resort's appeal.

"Sadness, that's the word. It's just sad," Davenport said. "There are a lot of memories, not as much for me as for the people that built it and the people that have been skiing there for years. It's just nostalgic. It was one of our features that people really liked about coming here - the neat old lodge."

Davenport said both buildings were insured, and that the state fire marshal will investigate the blaze on Tuesday.

Paul Bloch, a Rogers & Cowan publicist in Los Angeles said he was not sure if Willis had learned of the fire. Willis was married earlier this month and is on his honeymoon, Bloch said.

Amy Ballard, Ariel Hansen and Nate Poppino contributed to this report.

Read more on this story at magicvalley.com through the day.