The house caught fire after several witnesses described a ball of light falling from the sky. It’s quiet in the backcountry of Nevada County where there are rolling hills where cattle graze. Where nothing happens. “People around here are multi-generational ranchers or ranchers,” said Dustin Prosita, whose home was hit by a meteorite. “Spacious grounds, this was kind of a cattle ranch and not much around it,” said Capt. Josh Miller, Penn Valley Fire Department. Until Friday night. “I heard a big bang. I started smelling smoke and I walked onto my porch and it was completely engulfed in flames,” Procita said. A bright ball of light, which lit up the dark northern California sky around 7:30 p.m., appears to have landed in the middle of nowhere, KCRA reported. “They said it was a meteor,” Prosita said when asked what he thought might have hit his house. “I always saw meteor showers and stuff as a kid, but I certainly didn’t expect them to land in my yard or on my roof. I didn’t see what it was, but from everyone I talked to — it was a flaming ball falling from the sky, it landed on this the general area”. The Penn Valley Fire Department, along with Cal Fire, battled the flames for hours and are now investigating what caused the fire in this rural area. “Meteor, asteroid — one of these two,” Cpt. Miller said. “I had one person tell me about it first and, OK, I’ll put it in the back of my mind. But then more people — two, three or four more people started coming in and talking about it.” “Oh wow, it looks like a burning basketball coming out of that sky,” Procita described when he first saw the video. “I certainly feel very lucky that it was 30 feet away from me and not five.” As Procita and his wife pick up the pieces of what’s left of their home, they know they could have lost so much more and realize the odds are in their favor. “They say it’s a one in four trillion chance, so I guess I might buy a lottery ticket today,” joked Procita. NASA has an explanation. They said the southern Tauride meteor showers are taking place right now, with the peak happening this weekend. Astronomers said this year’s shower will include an increased number of fireballs that shine very brightly. Many who saw the fireball on Friday night are drawing their own conclusions.
