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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Jubilant West Virginia fans stormed the field after the Mountaineers' upset victory over No. 3 Virginia Tech and set bonfires in the streets around the stadium.
At least a dozen of approximately 90 fires were described as "sizable" by Monongalia County emergency officials. No one was seriously injured and structural damage was confined to a few porches, said Sgt. Mike Lantz of the Morgantown Police Department.
County officials activated an emergency operations center for about 2 1/2 hours early Thursday and considered cutting off power to Morgantown's Sunnyside neighborhood, where many students live.
"Some of the fires are large enough to get into the power lines, and we're running a big risk of active lines shorting and dropping into the streets," said David Flanigan, public information officer for the county's Office of Emergency Management.
Inside the stadium, police used pepper spray on fans who tried to tear down the goal posts after West Virginia's 28-7 victory. State Police and dozens of yellow-shirted security personnel surrounded the goal posts and kept fans at bay.
Brad Anderson of Chester said he was hit by the pepper spray when he ran down onto the field. "We can't breathe. We're hacking up our lungs, but it was worth it," Anderson said.
Fans retaliated by throwing debris at the security officials.
After Coach Rodriguez pleaded with fans over the public address system to depart, the field cleared quickly.
Outside the stadium, an unknown number of police and fire officers were struck with rocks and bottles, but all were treated and released from hospitals and no serious injuries were reported, Flanigan said.
One student was charged with battery on a police officer after punching an officer who was trying to take alcohol from him, Lantz said. About 20 other people were arrested on charges of setting fires, disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
Lantz could not identify the students or give an exact number of arrests because police reports were still incomplete.
At one point there were about 5,000 students on Grant Avenue, a main street in Sunnyside.
"It's as bad as we feared it would be," Flanigan said. "We're as prepared as we could have been, and we're utilizing every resource we have."
About 130 police officers waded through the crowds, including 50 of Morgantown's 54-strong police force with help from State Police, WVU campus security and officers from neighboring cities and towns.
"I saw people burning couches, mattresses, recliners," said student Harrison Hume.
Fire and police officials had spent two days before the game removing garbage and couches from citizens' front porches.
This week Rodriguez left recorded messages on students' answering machines, taped a video message shown on the stadium's scoreboard and made other requests through the media, imploring fans to act responsibly.
The fires marked the third time in the last year that fans have started fires following weeknight football games.
"It's definitely out of hand," Lantz said. "We just can't continue like this every time we have a night game or a national game."
At least a dozen of approximately 90 fires were described as "sizable" by Monongalia County emergency officials. No one was seriously injured and structural damage was confined to a few porches, said Sgt. Mike Lantz of the Morgantown Police Department.
County officials activated an emergency operations center for about 2 1/2 hours early Thursday and considered cutting off power to Morgantown's Sunnyside neighborhood, where many students live.
"Some of the fires are large enough to get into the power lines, and we're running a big risk of active lines shorting and dropping into the streets," said David Flanigan, public information officer for the county's Office of Emergency Management.
Inside the stadium, police used pepper spray on fans who tried to tear down the goal posts after West Virginia's 28-7 victory. State Police and dozens of yellow-shirted security personnel surrounded the goal posts and kept fans at bay.
Brad Anderson of Chester said he was hit by the pepper spray when he ran down onto the field. "We can't breathe. We're hacking up our lungs, but it was worth it," Anderson said.
Fans retaliated by throwing debris at the security officials.
After Coach Rodriguez pleaded with fans over the public address system to depart, the field cleared quickly.
Outside the stadium, an unknown number of police and fire officers were struck with rocks and bottles, but all were treated and released from hospitals and no serious injuries were reported, Flanigan said.
One student was charged with battery on a police officer after punching an officer who was trying to take alcohol from him, Lantz said. About 20 other people were arrested on charges of setting fires, disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
Lantz could not identify the students or give an exact number of arrests because police reports were still incomplete.
At one point there were about 5,000 students on Grant Avenue, a main street in Sunnyside.
"It's as bad as we feared it would be," Flanigan said. "We're as prepared as we could have been, and we're utilizing every resource we have."
About 130 police officers waded through the crowds, including 50 of Morgantown's 54-strong police force with help from State Police, WVU campus security and officers from neighboring cities and towns.
"I saw people burning couches, mattresses, recliners," said student Harrison Hume.
Fire and police officials had spent two days before the game removing garbage and couches from citizens' front porches.
This week Rodriguez left recorded messages on students' answering machines, taped a video message shown on the stadium's scoreboard and made other requests through the media, imploring fans to act responsibly.
The fires marked the third time in the last year that fans have started fires following weeknight football games.
"It's definitely out of hand," Lantz said. "We just can't continue like this every time we have a night game or a national game."
