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Marysville thieves stealing gas accidentally set school buses on fire

Published 10:33 am Monday, June 15, 2026

By Ian Davis-Leonard Herald Writer

Damage to a small school bus at Grace Academy after someone allegedly set it on fire while attempting to steal gas on June 11, 2026, in Marysville, WA. (Courtesy of Grace Academy)
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Damage to a small school bus at Grace Academy after someone allegedly set it on fire while attempting to steal gas on June 11, 2026, in Marysville, WA. (Courtesy of Grace Academy)

Damage to a small school bus at Grace Academy after someone allegedly set it on fire while attempting to steal gas on June 11, 2026, in Marysville, WA. (Courtesy of Grace Academy)
A small school bus is believed to be a total loss after someone accidentally set it on fire while attempting to steal gas at the Grace Academy in Marysville, Washington, on June 11, 2026. (Courtesy of Grace Academy)
A large school bus was burned when a small school bus nearby was accidentally set on fire by suspected thieves at the Grace Academy in Marysville, Washington, on June 11, 2026. (Courtesy of Grace Academy)

EVERETT — Two buses at a Marysville private school were damaged when suspected thieves accidentally started a fire.

On Thursday evening, two people were attempting to steal gas from a school bus at Grace Academy, a private K-12 school off 67th Ave NE, when the bus went up in flames, the school said in a post shared on social media.

The fire destroyed a small bus and damaged another large school bus, along with nearby bushes, according to the school.

“We’ve had some problems in the past with people coming onto campus and drilling holes into fuel tanks,” Tim Pearce, co-head of school at Grace Academy, told The Daily Herald. “This particular one went very wrong.”

Grace Academy school officials said the belief is that no one was hurt. They praised the Marysville Fire Department for a quick response in putting out the fire and keeping it from spreading.

The smaller bus is believed to be a total loss and the damage to the back of the larger bus is still being evaluated, Pearce said.

A Marysville Police Department spokesperson said the case is under review by investigators. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified as of Monday morning.

Class is out for summer, but Grace Academy is now considering how it will restock its fleet of buses used for field trips and athletic events in time for next year. Pearce said they had just raised money for a new bus just last year and are expecting to repeat the process.

“Now we are down again, so we are going to have to raise funds again,” he said.

The school is now accepting donations to replace the bus and upgrade campus security.

“If someone would like to contribute to help our students and keep our programs going, that would be wonderful,” Pearce said.

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com

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