Alaska State Troopers say one of the two runways at the airport in the Northwest Alaska village of Selawik has gone dark after more than two dozen lights along its length were shattered by a child Thursday.
According to a dispatch, word of the destruction in Selawik -- a community of about 875 people, roughly 90 miles east of Kotzebue -- first reached troopers at about 5 p.m. Thursday.
"Investigation revealed a (12-year-old) minor broke out 27 lights resulting in $2,500 worth of damage and the closure of the runway for most of the next few days until the runway lights can get replaced," troopers wrote.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration website, Selawik's airport has one runway that's about 3,000 feet long and another that's about 2,600 feet. The trooper report did not indicate which runway was affected.
Regional airline Bering Air's schedule includes two flights a day from Kotzebue to Selawik six days a week, with one on Sundays.
Betsy Hess, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said Friday that the damaged lights had only affected Selawik flights along the affected runway during nighttime hours or under instrument flight rules. The airport wasn't closed by the incident.
Airport staff issued notifications of the broken lights locally via the town's VHF radio, as well as those to the aviation community mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
"It was a combination of taxi lights, threshold lights and runway lights," Hess said. "We have FAA requirements that if there are four lights in a row out or eight lights total, we have to send out a (notice to airmen) to let pilots know the lights are out."
The state generally seeks restitution for its costs from such incidents, Hess said, if someone is charged and convicted of a crime.
"Just for parts it's about $1,200 to replace them," Hess said. "That figure does not include shipping time or labor, or if we have travel costs for someone to travel out there for the repair."
Troopers are continuing to investigate the incident.