One week after a fire claimed Main Street institution Whiskey Jacques', the cause of the conflagration remains under investigation.
While the point of origin has been determined, the source has not.
"The cause is suspicious in nature," said Kim Rogers, spokesperson for the Ketchum Police Department. "However, this could mean anything from arson to someone walking by and tossing a cigarette—it could have been accidental."
Rogers said the investigation, which is being led by State Fire Marshal Investigator Ivan Hibbert with assistance from Ketchum police Detective Scott Manning, has determined that the fire started in the front portion of 271 Main St. That building, directly to the north of Whiskey Jacques', has sat vacant since the bar Dirty Little Roddy's closed in March.
However, Rogers said the exact location has yet to be released, as the investigation is still pending.
That is also the reason that the police department will not comment on the interviews with a number of "people of interest" that have taken place.
Assistant Police Chief Mike McNeil, who will become interim chief in October, said one person of interest was arrested on an unrelated charge and is, at this time, no longer being considered in the fire investigation.
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With Main Street fully open once again, except for parking and pedestrian access on the west side between Sun Valley Road and Second Street, the on-scene part of the investigation has been concluded. Rogers said evidence that has been collected is being evaluated at a forensics laboratory.
Whiskey Jacques' staff have been allowed to sort through the rubble in an attempt to salvage anything of value that might have survived the blaze.
Karin Martin, the night club's owner, said she's been informed it could take six to eight months to get back up and running.
"If we can do it sooner than that we will, but the reality is we really don't know," she said. "We have been meeting insurance adjusters who have not been very positive about how that process is going to work."
Martin said her intent is to rebuild a business with the same flavor—and name—but it is too early to know how the process will pan out.
"So much depends on the city, the cost, the insurance," she said. "We're not even close to some of those answers. I think it's very much premature to be saying anything about what we're going to do except for our desire to do it. The reality is, we don't know."
