A northern California man believes the fire that engulfed his home Friday night was caused by a falling meteor.
The Penn Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire responded to the residential fire in western Nevada County near Lake Englebright shortly before 7:30 p.m. Friday. Fire officials said the blaze was contained in about four hours.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but homeowner Dustin Procita believes a meteorite struck his house, per reports. The rancher said he heard a big bang before discovering his porch was on fire, per reports.
The Southern Taurids meteor shower peaked Saturday, according to NASA, and is known for producing bright fireballs. A fireball at around the same time was captured by security cameras and social media users throughout the region.
A Ring surveillance video shared by Jessica Santos more than 100 miles away in Redding shows a large fireball falling through the sky.
Per reports, people arrived as firefighters battled the blaze, curious because they had also seen the fireball.
