The  in-field of the track burned bright as flames licked the turf on January 31st. Although the fire has since been put out, questions remain. Who committed  this act and how? Why did they do it?  Though we may never know, there are some facts.

 At 1:50 am on Sunday, January 31, someone dumped a bottle of flammable liquid on the practice field and lit it on fire. According to Mark Johnson, the NCHS Campus Supervisor, the fire burned for about 10 minutes. The fire melted a 4 foot by 6 foot section of the field turf. This is a form of arson and is illegal. When asked what is being done to catch the perpetrator, Johnson said, “Although our video surveillance system could not get a clear view of the person who did this due to darkness, we were able to get a description of the vehicle he drove. The Casper Police Department is watching for this vehicle.”

According to Officer Simons, there are 4 degrees in the state of Wyoming of arson. He says that “ the first degree would be like, if it was an occupied place or if it would basically put life in jeopardy. After that it kinda goes with how much property just kinda the circumstances of where it was and things like that.” According to Johnson, the fire is classified as 4th degree arson. Though the perpetrators punishment will be left up to a judge, this type of felony  results in a costly amount of damage.

Johnson says that replacing the field will be very expensive. “Melted field turf cannot be repaired, so a very large section of the practice field will have to be replaced.  It will cost more than $10,000.” Any one with information should contact campus security or the Casper Police Department.