Behind Arapahoe’s Bonfire

Ashleigh Huntley, Herald Reporter

Every year, the bonfire is one of most hyped events in which students flooded the baseball field joined together around the flames. But not many think about the work that goes on behind the scenes for the Homecoming tradition.

At around 11 am Wednesday morning, the sod was set up in the middle of the field and the palettes of wood were laid out outside of the fence.

¨We used three levels of sod as a base so it doesn’t burn the dirt,¨ Mr. Ceriani said while describing the process. 60 pallets of wood were used, and the fuel was made from a mix of diesel and gasoline. Hay wass put on the inside as a kindling for the fire to ignite.

Photo by Lily Stinton

According to Ceriani and Kuhlmann, the process can take five hours. But if all hands are on deck, then it / take as little as two. The student council helps after school and during school hours, PE students help and lay out the sod and maybe the first layer of the bonfire.

The fire chief comes at 5pm and then the firemen who light the bonfire arrive around 6pm. Students from the Littleton Fire Sciences class join the firefighters to get their firefighting certification.