Officials in Northern California are investigating the possibility that a meteorite destroyed a home in Nevada County.
According to ABC7, the house caught fire after several witnesses reported seeing a bright fireball falling from the sky on the evening of November 4 (local time).
Dustin Procita, the owner of the house struck by the meteorite, stated: “I heard a loud bang and then started to smell smoke, and the next thing I knew, the house was completely engulfed in flames.”
The state of the house after being destroyed by the meteorite – (Photo: KCRA).
“They said it was a piece of a meteorite,” Procita said when asked what might have struck his home.
“I used to watch meteor showers and everything when I was a kid, but I certainly didn’t expect one to land in my yard or through my roof. I didn’t see what it was, but according to the neighbors, it was a fiery ball falling from the sky.”
Procita added that most of the people in the area are farmers or ranchers.
Dustin Procita, the owner of the house struck by the meteorite – (Photo: KCRA TV)
Captain Josh Miller from the Penn Valley Fire Department stated: “This area is open, it’s a ranching community, and there isn’t much around it.”
At the same time, NASA reported: “The Taurid meteor shower is currently active, peaking this weekend.”
Astronomers also noted that this meteor shower would increase the number of bright fireballs lighting up the sky.
The KCRA station in Sacramento also reported seeing a brilliant light ball illuminating the dark sky of Northern California around 7:30 PM (local time), landing in a “void.”
The Penn Valley Fire Department, along with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, battled the flames for several hours and is now investigating what caused the fire in this rural area.
“Meteorites or asteroids – one of those two caused the fire. Many locals have told me about this,” Captain Miller said.
While picking up the remnants of his home with his wife, Procita joked: “They say there’s only a one in 4 trillion chance of a meteorite falling to Earth and hitting my house, so I might as well buy a lottery ticket today.”
Camera footage shows the meteor passing close to the house – (Photo: NY POST).
Firefighters arrive at the scene to extinguish the fire – (Photo: CAL FIRE)
