Rebuilding the Sperry Chalet: Part 1

On August 31, 2017, the Sprague Fire, roaring through Glacier National Park, reached the remote backcountry site of Sperry Chalet. It was one of two remaining chalets out of nine built by the Great Northern Railway Company in the 1910s within Glacier National Park’s high country. Despite preemptive mitigation efforts by park staff to protect the building, a spark from the nearby fire’s ember storm caught in one of the chalet’s eaves. The log-framed interior structure burned completely, leaving only the four stone masonry walls and the two interior stone chimneys still standing. Two accessory structures on the site were spared.