Deputies are investigating a large fireball falling to the ground in the southwest area of Polk County.
A resident reported the fireball around 4:50 p.m., thinking it was a plane crash, according to Lt. Dustin Newman, a spokesman with the Polk County Sheriff's Office. But no reports have come in from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Deputies — along with the U.S. Forest Service, a Life Flight Network helicopter and a local timber company — are working to locate a possible landing location and determine what the fireball is, Newman said.
DALLAS, OR (KPTV) – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is looking into what appears to be a fireball falling toward the earth in the southwest area of Polk County.
The sheriff's office and an expert at OMSI agree the stream of fire seen against the sunset sky Thursday evening is most likely a fireball, but at this point, they can't say for certain.
The sheriff’s office says the believed fireball, which is basically a really bright meteor, was first reported as a plane crash.
Jim Todd, the director of Space Science Education at OMSI, says it could be part of two meteor showers that are occurring right now. He says in all likelihood, the meteor could have started as the size of a car and become as small as a baseball upon entering earth's atmosphere.
He says fireballs are common, we just don't usually see them.
"These fireballs or meteors occur almost every day, but most of them are so far up, we don't notice them," Todd said. "This one was large enough to survive the entry to the point that we could see it."
Deputies Thursday night were working to figure out where the fireball might have landed. They asked for a Life Flight helicopter to fly over the area as a precaution.
Todd says it is rare for meteors to fall on land, but if it did, it would just look like a rock. He says anyone who saw or heard the believed fireball should report it to the American Meteor Society. https://www.kptv.com/news/believed-fireball-in-polk-county-could-have-been-as-big/article_5ae94c3a-0cce-11ea-97c2-2b43a1051332.html
NEAR DALLAS, Ore. — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday evening it is investigating a report of a crash or a fireball seen in the sky.
Sheriff Mark Garton sent KATU pictures his office received from a resident of Dallas. The pictures show what appears to be a cloud-like trail descending toward the hills southwest of town.
Garton couldn’t immediately confirm what the object was but said his office sent out a Life Flight helicopter over the area to make sure it was not a plane crash.
Later, the sheriff's office said in an updated Facebook post that it'll continue a search from the air Friday morning.
The sheriff's office said no planes have been reported lost on tracking systems.
KATU reached out to Jim Todd, director of space science education at OMSI for his take.
"Looking at the pictures, the best guess is that on the information that we have, it could be a fireball, a meteor," he said. "We're still early in the game, though. We need more reports, more data, to really make the call."
Anyone who sees a fireball can report it to the American Meteor Society here. https://katu.com/news/local/polk-county-deputies-investigating-after-report-of-crash-fireball-seen-in-the-sky
Authorities in northwestern Oregon said a large fireball seen falling from the sky is being investigated as a possible plane crash.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Thursday night that deputies are “currently investigating a large fireball falling to the earth in the southwest area of Polk County,” which is west of Salem, the state’s capital.
“The fireball was reported as a plane crash and PCSO is working to locate a possible landing location and exactly what the fireball is,” deputies said. Deputies also shared pictures of the fireball on Facebook. Those photos show a fiery, smoky object around sunset. Lt. Dustin Newman, a spokesman with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, said a local resident reported the fireball just before 5 p.m. “thinking it was a plane crash,” according to the Statesman Journal.
“But no reports have come in from the Federal Aviation Administration,” the newspaper reported.
KPTV reported that authorities “are working to figure out where the fireball might have landed and have a Life Flight helicopter flying over the area to investigate the wreckage.”
Sheriff Mark Garton sent pictures of the fireball to KATU, saying they were sent by a resident of Dallas, according to the TV station. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article237652989.html