Witnesses Claim Meteorite Destroyed Northern California Home During Taurid Meteor Shower
Many people saw a massive fireball flying across the sky in Northern California during the Taurids meteor shower Friday night. For one man, that fireball appears to have destroyed his home.
Dustin Procita was in his Nevada County home with his two dogs when a big bang happened around 7:30 pm. When he looked out onto his porch, it was completely engulfed in flames. He was forced flee the flames and, unfortunately, one of his dogs was killed in the incident.
Procita’s home was completely destroyed by the flames and according to witnesses, the meteor is to blame for the otherwise unexplainable event in rural Northern California.
Penn Valley Fire Department Captain Josh Miller battled the flames with his crew for several hours Friday night with little information on how it may have started. Then, witnesses began to come forward.
“Everyone I talked to said it was a flaming ball falling from the sky and landed in that general area,” Miller told KCRA. “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.”
A video posted to YouTube shows the home on fire saying “this is the meteor… Meteors are falling right now.”
According to Procita’s mother, who set up a GoFundMe to help pay for the damages, the family seems pretty sure it came from above.
“On November 4th my son Dustin & his wife Jeanette lost everything to a house fire caused by a meteorite,” read the GoFundMe. “Their beloved dog Tug, who somehow became trapped inside, perished in the fire. It was a total loss.”
The timing and location seem to add up with the meteor witnesses through the night. It would certainly be a rare occurrence.
“They said it’s a one in four trillion chance so I guess I might be buying a lottery ticket today,” said Procita.
It should take about 2 weeks to determine the cause of the fire. With the publicity of the event, the eyes of NorCal will be on this tragedy.
