Fire damages popular Whitefish restaurant

Firefighters responded to a grease fire at Ciao Mambo restaurant on Saturday morning.

Callers to 911 reported that flames were 10 to 12 feet high coming from the exhaust stack on the roof of the Second Street restaurant.

The restaurant remains closed as a result of the fire, according to James Blystone with Glacier Restaurant Group, which owns Ciao Mambo. Bylstone on Monday said contractors were in the restaurant looking at the damage.

“We’re actively assessing the damage,” he said. “We’re working as quickly as we can to re-open, but as of now we don’t have an estimate for when that will be.”

Whitefish Fire Department responded along with Big Mountain Fire, Evergreen Fire Rescue, Columbia Falls Fire and West Valley Fire and Rescue. Whitefish Fire Department, according to its Facebook page, was holding rookie training so had the help of the new recruits and two instructors, along with the Assistant Chief of Kalispell Fire Department and the Flathead County Emergency Manager from the Flathead Office of Emergency Services.

Whitefish Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol helped with traffic control while Second Street was closed.

Ciao Mambo opened in Whitefish in 2001.