California man says meteor destroyed his home after he ‘heard a big bang’

SACRAMENTO, Cal. — Northern California officers are trying into the chance {that a} meteorite destroyed a house in Nevada County Friday evening.

The home caught fireplace after a number of witnesses described a vivid ball of sunshine falling from the sky.

It is quiet within the secluded space of Nevada County the place there are rolling hills the place cattle graze. The place nothing occurs.

“Folks round listed here are multigenerational cattle farmers or ranchers,” stated Dustin Procita, whose house was struck by a meteor.

“Broad open areas, This was form of a farm cattle ranch space and never a lot round it,” stated Captain Josh Miller, with the Penn Valley Fireplace Division.

Till Friday evening.

“I heard an enormous bang. I began to scent smoke and I went onto my porch and it was utterly engulfed in flames,” Procita stated.

It seems a vivid ball of sunshine, which lit up the darkish northern California sky round 7:30 p.m., landed in the course of nowhere, KCRA reported.

“They stated it was a meteor,” Procita stated when requested what he thought may need hit his home. “I’ve at all times watched meteor showers and stuff as a child, however I positively did not sit up for them touchdown in my yard or by way of my roof. I didn’t see what it was, however from all people I talked to — was a flaming ball falling from the sky, landed in that basic space.”

The Penn Valley Fireplace Division, together with Cal Fireplace, battled the flames for hours and are actually investigating what began the hearth on this rural space.

“Meteorite, asteroid — a kind of two,” Cpt. Miller stated. “I had one particular person inform me about it first and like, okay, I will put that behind my thoughts. However then extra folks — two, three or 4 extra began coming in and speaking about it.”

“Oh wow, appears to be like like a flaming basketball popping out of this sky,” Procita described when he watched the video for the primary time. “Positively really feel very fortunate that it was 30 toes away from me and never 5.”

As Procita and his spouse choose up the items of what is left of their house, they know they might have misplaced far more and realized the percentages could also be of their favor.

“They are saying it is a one in 4 trillion probability, so I assume I is perhaps shopping for a lottery ticket at this time,” Procita joked.

NASA has one rationalization. They stated the southern Taurids meteor showers are going down proper now, with the height occurring this weekend. Astronomers stated this yr’s bathe will embrace an elevated variety of fireballs that shine very vivid.

Many individuals who noticed the fireball in Friday evening are drawing their very own conclusions.