Meteorite Sets California Man’s House on Fire [Look]

Locals in a rural part of Northern California said a home allegedly caught fire and was destroyed by a meteor. As additional witnesses support the accusation, authorities are considering the cause.

The meteor-damaged home is situated in a rural part of Nevada County where most locals work with livestock. Before a home supposedly caught fire, there wasn't much news out of this far-off place.

TOPSHOT-LEBANON-ASTRONOMY — Meteors of the Orionid meteor shower streak as they cross through the milkyway in the mountainous area of Tannourine in northern Lebanon, on October 3, 2021. IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images

Meteorite Hits California Home with a 'Big Bang'

Dustin Procita, the home's owner, told investigators that he heard a "big bang" before he smelled smoke pouring from the building. The house was soon completely engulfed in flames as he stepped outside onto his porch.

Friday at 7:26 pm, CAL FIRE responded with Penn Valley FPD to a Residential Structure Fire near Lake Englebright. E2354 arrived first reporting a well involved trailer and vehicle, with no threat to vegetation. The fire was contained, committing resources for approx. 4 hours. pic.twitter.com/WPfjtZcLj8
— CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit (@CALFIRENEU) November 5, 2022

It is uncommon to see a meteorite strike the ground; in fact, some of us may have never seen one. It turns out that "shooting stars" hitting the ground is not all that uncommon; Iberdrola says 17,000 meteorites hit the planet annually.

One reason for their seeming scarcity and invisibility is their size, which shrinks as they pass through the Earth's atmosphere to the point that they are nearly imperceptible.

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It does sometimes happen for a meteor to strike the ground and do significant harm.

Firefighters needed many hours to totally extinguish the flames that had enveloped the residence in the ranch area. The meteor that hit the home was likened by witnesses to a flaming basketball descending from the sky. According to KCRA, a dazzling ball of light that was captured on autos and home recordings plummeted in the midst of nowhere. Procita is sure that his home was hit by a meteor.

A dog died in flames along with the family's possessions as the fire destroyed the entire house. The family has already started to raise money through GoFundMe to assist them in getting over the unfortunate event.

NASA's Take On Incident

NASA verified reports of a fireball sighting above Northern California at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday. According to NASA's Facebook post, the fireball was not considered a component of the Taurid meteor shower that lit up the sky over the weekend.

The likelihood of getting struck by a meteorite and dying, as a result, is estimated to be 1 in 1.6 million by astronomy professor Stephen Nelson of the University of Tulane.

Thomas is assisting in the still-unknown investigation into the fire's origin. On Monday morning, investigators were still examining the scene. The probe won't be finished for a few weeks, according to Thomas.

According to Thomas, the fire department intends to contact NASA and the US Air Force to request their assistance in the inquiry.

Meanwhile, there are now visible Taurid meteor showers in the region, with Saturday being the peak. According to NASA, the number of luminous balls that may be seen in the sky will rise.