Areas served · Wyoming
Forensic Engineering in Casper
In and around Casper
What we investigate in Casper
Casper sits on expansive Wyoming bentonite, and that soil is behind much of the foundation movement we investigate. Layered over a century-old refining and energy economy on the high plains, the risk picture also runs to wind, hail, and fire. We document what actually failed, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours.
The conditions we see in Casper
The Wyoming State Geological Survey has mapped bentonite deposits near Casper since a 1946 study, and sodium bentonite is among the most expansive soils there is: it swells hard when it takes on water and shrinks and cracks as it dries, driving footings up and down season to season. That movement racks frames, cracks slabs, and separates foundations in ways that read like ordinary settlement until the soil behavior is evaluated. On the high plains the FEMA National Risk Index also rates strong wind, hail, and winter weather as real hazards, all of which load roofs and building envelopes.
Casper's housing skews older, with a Natrona County median year built near 1977 and a stock dominated by single-family detached homes, much of it built through the oil-boom and postwar decades on that bentonite. The city is a long-standing energy and refining hub, with process plants, tank farms, and pipeline and brownfield sites tied to a refining history that began in 1895 and ran to the 1991 refinery closure.
How we help in Casper
The evaluations Casper cases usually call for
- Foundation and expansive-soil evaluation
When a slab cracks or a wall separates over Casper's bentonite, the question is whether it is soil heave, a drainage problem, or a construction defect. Our licensed engineers evaluate the structure and the soil behavior together and document which one caused the damage, rather than assume the ground.
Our structural engineering services- Wind, hail, and water loss investigation
After a high-plains wind or hail event, we determine whether the damage came from the storm, from a pre-existing condition, or from a defect, and we investigate the component and water losses that follow. Every finding rests on the physical evidence at the property.
Our forensic engineering services
Fire origin & cause
Fire origin and cause in Casper
Casper has refined and moved oil for more than a century, and that legacy shapes its fire risk: tank farms, pipeline and oilfield facilities, and brownfield process sites carry real fire and explosion potential, while a long cold heating season keeps furnaces, wood stoves, and space heaters running for months in aging oil-boom and postwar housing. When a fire starts in an old system or an energy facility, the cause is rarely obvious in the debris, and the answer drives the claim.
Our NAFI-certified investigators work to NFPA 921. They examine the scene systematically, trace burn and char patterns back to the area of origin, evaluate the electrical and mechanical systems, and rule out causes until the evidence supports one, accidental or incendiary. The investigator preserves the evidence early, documents the finding, and testifies to it at deposition and trial.
Fires we investigate
- Residential and commercial fires
- Heating-system fires
- Electrical and appliance fires
- Industrial and refinery-legacy fires and explosions
- Vehicle fires
Common questions
Forensic engineering in Casper, Wyoming
A different question about your case? An engineer, not a call center, answers within 24 hours.
Is foundation cracking in Casper usually the soil?
Often, but not always. Wyoming bentonite around Casper is highly expansive and heaves foundations, yet drainage, plumbing leaks, and construction defects produce similar cracking. We evaluate the structure and the soil behavior before assigning a cause.
Can you investigate a fire at an energy or refinery-legacy site?
Yes. Casper's tank farms, pipeline and oilfield facilities, and former process sites carry fire and explosion potential, and we apply NFPA 921 to determine origin and cause and to evaluate the systems involved.
Do you charge travel to reach Casper?
No. We work Casper-area cases from our Omaha lab and Los Angeles office with no travel charges, and a licensed engineer responds within 24 hours.
Have a loss that needs answers?
Tell us what happened. An engineer, not a call center, will review your case.