Nats Park light-stand fire caused by 'minor' malfunction

WASHINGTON -- As the Nationals returned to the dugout before the bottom of the 11th inning on Thursday night, a stadium light in right field began to spark. One of the individual bulbs in a light panel caught fire, forcing three sections of seats below the panel to evacuate.

"There was a minor technical malfunction in the lights above Section 226," the team said in a statement. "All those in the vicinity were immediately evacuated and our facilities team is currently looking into what may have caused the problem."

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said that he noticed the sparks from the field but hoped that it wouldn't delay the game. Ushers quickly cleared the stadium seats and the fire was extinguished. The game continued without delay and there were no known injuries to any fans.