Man claims blaze that destroyed his California home was caused by a meteor

A Northern California man said he believes a meteor fell from the night sky and landed on his property, destroying his home in a massive fire.

Officials are investigating the possibility that the bright flaming ball — seen by several people in the region — was a meteorite that started the Nevada County blaze Friday night.

Dustin Procita said: KCR that he was in the house with his two dogs when something hit the house and started the fire.

“I heard a big bang,” he said. ‘I started to smell smoke. I went up to my porch and it was completely on fire.’

Multiple people across the region caught the bright fireball on camera as the dark California sky lit up around 7:30 p.m. this Friday night.

A homeowner caught the orb on a Ring camera in Redding, California. The footage shows the bright flash of fireball in the sky before descending to the ground in the distance.

Several other people caught the fireball on camera as it fell to Earth, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Procita said he wasn’t sure what it was at first, but after hearing about the fireball lighting up the night sky at the same time, he thinks it was a meteor that landed right on his house.

“As a kid I always saw meteor showers and stuff, but I was definitely not looking forward to them landing in my yard or through my roof,” he told KCRA.

“I didn’t see what it was, but from everyone I spoke to — a flaming ball fell from the sky and landed in that general area.”

Penn Valley and Cal Fire fire officials battled the flames for hours. They are investigating what caused the fire in this rural area and say it could be a meteorite.

A homeowner caught the orb on a Ring camera in Redding, California. The footage shows the bright flash of fireball in the sky before descending to the ground in the distance

A driver in Northern California caught the fireball from the highway when it fell to the ground

Procita said he didn’t know what it was at first, but after hearing the fireball lit up the night sky at the same time, he believes it was a meteor that landed right on his house.

“Meteorite, asteroid—one of those two,” said Captain Josh Miller. “I had a person tell me about it first and like, okay, I’ll keep that in mind. But then more people came—two, three, or four more started coming in and talking about it.’

And when Procita first saw video of the fireball, he was convinced.

“Oh wow, it looks like a flaming basketball coming out of this sky,” Procita said, looking at the footage. “I feel absolutely very lucky that it was 10 meters away from me and not five.”

Penn Valley and Cal Fire Fire Department officials battled the flames for hours

They are investigating what caused the fire in the rural area and say it may have been a meteorite

While Procita says he’s lucky it wasn’t worse, he and his wife Jeanette lost everything in the fire, including one of their two family dogs.

Their beloved dog Tug, who somehow got trapped inside, perished in the fire, according to one GoFundMe set up by a family member. The house is a total loss.

The area of ​​Nevada County where the meteor hit is a remote area with rolling hills and neighbors are scattered.

“Wide, open spaces and this was on a farm, a cattle ranch area with not much around it,” Miller said.

“They say it’s a one in four trillion chance, so I think I might buy a lottery ticket today,” Procita joked, referring to the chance of a meteor hitting them in the middle of the countryside.

Procita was in the house when the fireball struck. The house is a total loss

Firefighters worked in front of house on the massive fire, but this was all that was left

Procita says he’s lucky it wasn’t worse, he and wife Jeanette lost everything in the fire, including one of their two family dogs, according to a GoFundMe set up by a family

Miller told KCRA he didn’t see the bright ball in the sky, but everyone he spoke to said the same thing — that it looked like a flaming ball falling from the sky.

And some witnesses even followed the trail to where it landed – the property of Procitas.

“One person first told me about it and I put it in the back of my mind, but then more people — 2, 3, 4 — came in and talked about it,” Miller said.

KCRA reported that according to NASA, the southern Taurid meteor showers are happening right now, peaking this weekend.

This year’s squall is expected to contain a greater number of fireballs, also known as a Taurid swarm, according to EarthSky.