Business owner finds strength after fire
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RONAN – A fire at S&S Sports completely destroyed the business and the inventory inside on Monday, March 14, at around 1 p.m.
Emergency crews throughout Lake County responded to the scene and worked for several hours to put the fire out. Police officers directed traffic on U.S. Highway 93 a few miles outside of Ronan where the business was located.
S&S Sports was closed like usual for a Monday, so no one was hurt in the fire. Owner Gina Johnson said that she was shopping in Missoula when she heard about the fire.
“People called me and asked if I was all right,” she said, adding that she wasn’t sure what they were asking about. “Then, they told me what happened. I just hung up and started trying to get there.”
She drove for about an hour before she got to her business and saw a large plume of smoke trailing from the roof. The inside of the building was engulfed in flames.
“It seemed like it took forever to get there,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was happening.”
As she watched the fire, she started thinking about putting the business back together.
“We want to try and rebuild,” she said.
She added that the building was a complete loss, but many people jumped in to help pull boats owned by customers away from the fire.
“The boats were saved,” she said.
Johnson was amazed at how many people responded to the fire.
“I’m so thankful to everyone that helped,” she said. “The firefighters and everyone.”
In the past week, the second question she often gets asked after “are you okay?” is whether or not she has insurance on the business.
“We have insurance, but we don’t know if it will be enough at this point,” she said, because she isn’t sure how much was lost in the fire. “We will wait and see, but I plan on rebuilding.”
Until then, she is operating the business the best way she can.
“We are doing most of the business with the sister store in Thompson Falls, but we are still fully in business,” she said. “Phone calls are being transferred to Thompson Falls. It’s not perfect but doable.”
She plans to put up signs to let people know that the business on Highway 93 is still functioning without the main building.
“We can still set up things outside,” she said. “This might be a little inconvenient, but we want to keep going.”
She is also working from her home.
“We are doing as much as we can,” she said. “We are putting together lost contracts and other paperwork.”
She said she is amazed by the support she has received from the community.
“We are so blessed by this community,” she said. “Most importantly, I want to thank everyone for their support.”
The family business opened in 1993 by Wes Johnson. He passed away in 2012.
“This started out as my husband’s hobby,” she said. “He retired from the Highway Patrol and needed something to do.”
Snowmobiles and lawn equipment were the first things for sale in the business. Many other items were added including four-wheelers and jet skis. A repair service was also added to the business.
“We’ve added all kinds of things over the years,” she said.
Jake Starkel, the couple’s son, is the current general manager.
“We are a family run business, and we want to keep it going,” Johnson said.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
