‘I heard a big bang’: Meteor in direct hit on man’s rural California home – killing one of his dogs and completely destroying the property in ONE-IN-FOUR-TRILLION freak event
- Dustin Procita and his wife Jeanette lost their home to a fire after officials say a meteor hit their home in Northern California on Friday night
- Around the same time, witnesses say they say a fireball light up the night sky
- Video captured the fireball flash in the sky and fall rapidly to the ground
- Procita was inside his home when he heard it hit and his house caught fire
- The odds of being hit by a meteor – one in four trillion – are considerably less likely than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot – which is one in 292.2M
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 looking into the possibility that the bright flaming ball – that was spotted by several people across the region – was a meteorite that caused the fire in Nevada County on Friday night.
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 to smell smoke. I went onto my porch and it was completely engulfed in flames.’
Multiple people all over the region captured the bright ball of fire on camera as it lit up the dark California sky around 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.
The odds of being hit by a meteor – one in four trillion – are considerably less likely than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot – which is one in 292.2 million. The current Powerball jackpot sits at a whopping $1.9 billion with the next drawing set for Monday night.
A family in Northern California lost their home and one of their dogs in massive house fire after several witnesses reported seeing a bright ball of light falling from the night sky
One homeowner caught the ball of light on a Ring camera in Redding, California. The footage shows the bright fireball flash in the sky before descending to the ground in the distance.
Several other people caught the fireball on camera as it fell to the earth, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
Procita said he wasn’t sure at first what it was, 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 house.
‘I’ve always watched meteor showers and stuff as a kid, but I definitely didn’t look forward to them landing in my yard or through my roof,’ he told KCRA.
‘I did not see what it was, but from everybody I talked to — was a flaming ball falling from the sky, landed in that general area.’
Officials with the Penn Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire battled the flames for hours. They’re investigating what started the fire in this rural area, and say it might have been a meteorite.
One homeowner caught the ball of light on a Ring camera in Redding, California. The footage shows the bright fireball flash in the sky before descending to the ground in the distance
A driver in Northern California captured the fireball from the highway as he fell to the ground
Procita said he didn’t know 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 house
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oOn3oVKc_Sg%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
‘Meteorite, asteroid — one of those two,’ Captain Josh Miller said. ‘I had one individual tell me about it first and like, okay, I’ll put that in the back of my mind. But then more people — two, three or four more started coming in and talking about it.’
And when Procita saw video of the fireball for the first time, he was convinced.
‘Oh wow, looks like a flaming basketball coming out of this sky,’ Procita said, watching the footage. ‘Definitely feel very lucky that it was 30 feet away from me and not five.’
Officials with the Penn Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire battled the flames for hours
They’re investigating what started the fire in the rural area, and say it might have been a meteorite
While Procita says he feels fortunate it was not worse, he and his wife Jeanette lost everything in the fire, including one of their two family dogs.
Their beloved dog Tug, who somehow became trapped inside, perished 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 hit is a secluded area of rolling hills and neighbors are spread out.
‘Wide, open spaces and this was out on a farm, a cattle ranch area with not much around it,’ Miller said.
‘They say it’s a one in four trillion chance, so I guess I might be buying a lottery ticket today,’ Procita joked, referring to the odds of a meteor hitting them in the middle of the rural area.
Procita was inside the house when the fireball hit. The house is a total loss
Firefighters worked for house on the massive fire, but this was all that was left
Procita says he feels fortunate it was not 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 that 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 followed its path to where it landed – the Procitas’ property.
‘I had one individual tell me about it first and I put it in the back of my mind but then more people — 2, 3, 4 — started coming in and talking about it,’ Miller said.
KCRA reported that according to NASA, the southern Taurids meteor showers are taking place at this time, with the peak happening this weekend.
This year’s shower is expected to include an increased number of fireballs, otherwise known as a Taurid Swarm, according to EarthSky.
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