A Northern California man said he believes a meteor fell from the night sky and landed on his property, destroying his home in a massive fire.
Officials are exploring the possibility that the brightly flaming ball – spotted by several people in the area – was a meteorite that caused Friday night’s Nevada County fire.
Dustin Procita told KCRA that he was inside the house with his two dogs when something hit the house and started the fire.
“I heard a big bang,” he said. “I started smelling smoke. I went onto my porch and it was completely on fire.’
Several people across the region captured the bright ball of fire on camera as it lit up the dark California sky around 7:30 p.m. Friday night.
The odds of being hit by a meteor – one in four trillion – are significantly less than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot – one in 292.2 million. The current Powerball jackpot is a whopping $1.9 billion, with the next drawing scheduled for Monday.
A family in Northern California lost their home and one of their dogs in a massive house fire after multiple witnesses reported seeing a bright ball of light fall from the night sky
A homeowner captured the ball of light with a Ring camera in Redding, California. Footage shows the bright flash of fireballs across the sky before plummeting to the ground in the distance.
Several other people caught the fireball on camera as it fell to earth in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.
Procita said he wasn’t sure what it was at first, but after hearing about the fireball lighting up the night sky at the same time, he believes it was a meteor that landed right on his home.
“I used to watch meteor showers and stuff as a kid, but I definitely wasn’t looking forward to them landing in my yard or through my roof,” he told KCRA.
“I didn’t see what it was, but everyone I spoke to had a flaming ball fall from the sky and land in that approximate area.”
Penn Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire officers battled the blazes for hours. They’re investigating what started the fire in this rural area and say it could have been a meteorite.
A homeowner captured the ball of light with a Ring camera in Redding, California. Footage shows the bright flash of fireballs across the sky before plummeting to the ground in the distance
A driver in Northern California caught the fireball from the freeway as it fell to the ground
Procita said he didn’t know what it was at first, but after hearing about the fireball simultaneously lighting up the night sky, he believes it was a meteor that landed right on his house
“Meteorite, asteroid – one of those two,” said Captain Josh Miller. “I had one person tell me about it first and like, okay, I’ll keep that in the back of my mind. But then more people came in – two, three or four more came in and talked about it.”
And when Procita first saw video of the fireball, he was convinced.
“Oh wow, looks like a flaming basketball coming out of this sky,” Procita said, looking at the footage. “I’m definitely very happy that it was 30 feet away from me and not five.”
Penn Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire officers battled the blazes for hours
They’re investigating what started the fire in the rural area and say it could have been a meteorite
While Procita is lucky it wasn’t worse, he and his wife Jeanette lost everything in the fire, including one of their two family dogs.
Her beloved dog Tug, who was somehow trapped inside, died in the fire, according to a GoFundMe set up by a family member. The house is a total loss.
The area of Nevada County where the meteor struck is a remote area with rolling hills, and neighbors are scattered.
“Broad, open spaces and it was out on a farm, a cattle station with not much around it,” Miller said.
“They say it’s a one in four trillion chance, so I guess I could buy a lottery ticket today,” Procita joked, referring to the chances of a meteor hitting her in the middle of the countryside.
Procita was in the house when the fireball hit. The house is a total loss
Firefighters worked for the home on the massive fire, but that was all that remained
Procita says he feels lucky it wasn’t worse, he and his wife Jeanette lost everything in the fire, including one of their two family dogs, according to a GoFundMe set up by a family
Miller told KCRA he didn’t see the bright ball in the sky, but everyone he spoke to said the same thing – that it looked like a flaming ball falling from the sky.
And some witnesses even traced its path to where it ended up – the property of the Procitas.
“I had one person tell me about it at first, and I put it in the back of my mind, but then more people — 2, 3, 4 — came in and started talking about it,” Miller said.
KCRA reported that according to NASA, the Southern Taurid meteor showers occur at this time, with the peak coming this weekend.
According to EarthSky, this year’s shower is expected to contain an increased number of fireballs, also known as Taurid Swarm.