CONCORD — The Mt. Diablo football team won’t be playing home games for the foreseeable future as its newly installed field went up in flames over the weekend.
On Saturday, a fire broke out in the middle of the field, torching the mutli-million-dollar turf at the East Bay school. The field is currently unplayable and has likely displaced the football team from playing home games on campus this season.
The Red Devils were scheduled to host Terra Linda on Friday in the first game on the new field, but the location and timing of that game are now up in the air.
According to coaches, the fire started around 10:30 p.m. Saturday and stayed lit until early Sunday morning.
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Principal Markell McCain told KRON4 news station that Concord Police and the Contra Costa Fire Department are investigating the matter.
Last month, Timpanogos High School in Utah had to replace part of its turf field after an intentional fire. The school had to pay $40,000 to have the damaged portion repaired, but Mt. Diablo’s fire has torched a much larger piece of the field than the school in Utah.
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One possibility for Mt. Diablo could be to play its home games at Diablo Valley College, 2.5 miles west of its campus. DVC has hosted many high school games over the years.
Mt. Diablo held practice on the adjacent grass field behind its stadium on Monday.
Mt. Diablo installed its new state-of-the-art turf field, which includes a running track, in March.
This story will be updated.