KTRV Fox 12 Meteor Was No UFO

Meteor Was No UFO

Boise, Idaho -- A shocking event just after 6:30 Tuesday morning grabbed the attention of people across the Northwest.

Officials now say it was a meteor entering the earth's atmosphere, but with witnesses stretching from Canada through Washington, Idaho and Montana, you might have gotten the idea that this falling rock from space was something much, much different.

"Yes, it came from outer space to fill the world with terror, to bring you unforgettable suspense."

That was the beginning line to the preview of the now-classic science fiction film "It Came From Outer Space."

In the 1950s, meteors were objects of a number of sci-fi movies, although in this one, aliens eventually crawled out and attacked humanity.

"What was it, where did it come from," continued the narrator, "who were the all-powerful creatures that walk from outer space?"

But sometimes even a b-rated film can imitate reality.

Surveillance video from the Idaho National Guard demonstrates how a real meteor can resemble a Hollywood creation.

And people who saw it, may have reacted the same way, which is apparent from the amount of calls received at Ada County Dispatch.

"911 emergency," answers dispatch operators.

"Hi, I just saw a huge explosion in the sky," responded one caller to just witnessing the event.

While nobody confused the falling rock for an alien or UFO, Ada County Dispatch received descriptions of just about everything else but a meteor.

"I was on the phone with my mom who lives in Washington, who lives about 350 miles away, and I saw lightning and so did she," said another caller.

Another said, "It reminded me of fireworks, but it certainly wasn't fireworks."

"It must have been an airplane, were it that," said one man.

Other surveillance cameras around the Northwest also caught glimpses of the event, one piece of video came from a hospital in Portland.

"Sure enough, first thing this morning it was seen and our cameras caught it with a motion detector," said Carol Coats, a security officer at the hospital.

According to some airline pilots, the fireball collided with the earth about 90 miles from Spokane, but to Treasure Valley witnesses, it seemed much closer.

"At first we didn't know what it was," said Ben Flint.

Flint saw it in Nampa while on his way to work and says he thought it was much closer, even though he, too, was unsure of just what it was.

"We thought it might have been a plane hit, or lightning strike, we just didn't know."

And according to his description, if it was a UFO, there's no way it survived.

"After the initial big flash, you could see a bit of ember falling, just like a big fire cracker would have gone off," said Flint.

So we can all breath a sigh of relief, humanity is still safe from alien invaders, at least for now.

From reports, there is no evidence on the ground of a meteor, and that may be because of a common misconception.

Most witnesses would have estimated the object to be rather huge in size. In fact, one scientist from the U.S. Naval Observatory, speculates it was probably only as big as a large suitcase.