Central Texas Residents Witness Fire Falling from Sky

Shortly before noon on Sunday, February 15, Central Texas law enforcement officials began receiving calls from startled residents concerned about a possible plane crash or explosion. Local residents reported seeing burning objects falling from the sky, and many reported hearing a loud "explosion" and feeling their homes shake.

Shortly after 12 p.m. Sunday, Waco news station KWTX alerted residents that law enforcement officials were looking for the source of a "loud explosion" heard and felt by residents throughout Central Texas. A short time later, it was reported that an FAA spokesman said the agency suspected that residents were seeing and feeling the effects of falling debris from the U.S. and Russian satellites that collided in space last week.

Later in the evening, as Central Texas residents settled on the belief that we had experienced falling debris from the satellite collision, some local news sources began reporting that whatever it was that streaked across the Central Texas sky was not debris from the satellites. By the time national news outlets picked up the story, it was being widely reported that a STRATCOM official stated there was no connection between what Central Texans experienced and the satellite collision.

Residents of my area, Hill County, called local television stations to report the mysterious objects and sounds. I recall looking up from the book that I was reading sometime before noon Sunday, having heard a sound outside. It wasn't as noticeable here as it was in other areas of Central Texas, however. A family member in Navarro County, near Corsicana, Texas, said her home began shaking, and she feared a gas line may have exploded.

Central Texas residents left comments on local news websites describing their experiences Sunday, including seeing "fireballs", hearing and feeling "explosions", and feeling the earth shake. Others warned "the sky is falling!", and as can be expected when anything seemingly unusual comes from the sky, some made jokes about aliens and government cover-ups.

Sunday's events reminded many Central Texans of the terrible sights and sounds of February 1, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas and caused debris to fall over a large portion of the state.

It seems strange that Central Texans experienced unusual events in the sky only a day after the FAA warned pilots to watch for falling debris from the satellite collision, and now we are being told that whatever happened here was unrelated to that event.

It may not have been an alien attack or satellite debris, but residents here know they experienced something strange Sunday, and at least one person has proof. Amateur video of one of the "fireballs" witnessed by Texans can be seen on CNN's website (here).

Sources:

Personal Experience

If It Wasn't Satellite Debris, What Was It? KWTX Channel 10 News

Mystery fireball streaks across Texas sky, Yahoo! News

Texans report fireball in sky, sonic booms, CNN