Mount Diablo High's artificial-turf football field was destroyed by a fire days before the team's first scheduled home game, leaving a massive burn scar that likely renders the surface unplayable for the season. The fire began around 10:30 pm Saturday and was not fully extinguished until Sunday morning, with fire and police departments on scene. The recently completed $3 million field had flame-retardant turf, prompting arson suspicions. Concord Police and Contra Costa Fire Department are investigating. The team is seeking alternate venues, with nearby Diablo Valley College cited as a possible location for future home games.
The center of the field is now a massive burn scar where the artificial turf used to be, and that surface is likely unplayable for the remainder of the season. The team is currently scheduled to play their first home game against San Rafael's Terra Linda High School on Friday, and is scrambling to make alternate accommodations. Bay Area News Group's article above has plenty of pictures of the massively burned and melted field.
The fire reportedly started around 10:30 pm Saturday night, and was not fully extinguished until well into Sunday morning. When I got here, the whole fire department was here, whole police department was here, the school's Principal Dr. Markell McCain told KTVU. They had put the fire for the most part pretty much out, they were still wetting it from hot spots, but it was already damage done.
According to KRON4, the school's overall football field and surrounding track complex cost $3 million, and it had just been completed in March of this year. The turf was flame-retardant, so that's fueling suspicions that the fire was caused by arson. Indeed, both the Concord Police Department and Contra Costa Fire Department are investigating the case as a possible arson, as KRON4 reports.
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