Vacant southside Missoula restaurant goes up in flames

(Missoula Current) A once-popular restaurant on South Brooks Street caught fire early Wednesday morning, drawing the response of all city fire engines.

HuHot occupied the property until it closed last October. The building has sat vacant ever since.

But at roughly 5:30 a.m., fire crews were dispatched to reports of a fire in the empty building. Most crews remained on site for several hours to fully contain the fire.

Off-duty firefighters were also called in to cover for crews battling the fire. As of Wednesday afternoon, the city said the fire was under investigation.

The stretch of Brooks Street has seen other vacant buildings vandalized and illegally occupied over the years.

An Aron's store and the Cine 3 movie theater sat vacant for years, falling victim to vandals and criminal activity. The issue became so severe that the city paid for their demolition.

That property was eventually redeveloped by Stockman Bank.