Meteor may have devastated Californian home—because dog died in fire | DayDayNews World News

A man’s home may have been destroyed by a shooting star – after a “flaming basketball” fell from the sky, killing a dog, authorities said.

Dustin Procita was at his Nevada County home about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento with his two dogs when he heard “a bang” in the usually quiet rural community, he told an NBC affiliate KCRA.

“I started smelling smoke and walked to my porch and it was completely engulfed in flames,” Mr Prosita said.

NBC shared a video showing what appeared to be a fireball falling from the sky close to the road.

When an NBC reporter showed the video to Mr. Procita, he commented: “Wow, it looks like a flaming basketball is falling from the sky.”

The Pennsylvania Valley Fire Department was notified at 7:26 p.m. on Nov. 4, and with the help of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the fire was successfully contained three hours later.

Image: NBC
picture:
Image: NBC

A dog was killed in the fire, which also destroyed a house, a travel trailer and a pickup truck, Cal Fire spokeswoman Mary Eldridge said.

Authorities don’t know the cause of the fire but are investigating whether a meteor fell from the sky and landed on Mr Prosita’s home.

“It’s a potential cause, but it’s too early to identify one,” Fire Chief Clayton Thomas said.

“I can say that during the incident, many people approached the fire department and said they saw a possibly falling meteor in the area. We haven’t seen any video or witnesses saying it hit an actual structure.”

Captain Thomas added that it could take several weeks for the department to determine the cause.

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