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Thursday, June 3, 2004 · Last updated 4:22 a.m. PT

Flashes, booms reported over Western Washington

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE -- Bright flashes and sharp booms were reported in the skies over the Puget Sound area early Thursday, and aviation officials said a meteor may have been the source.

An early report that a meteor might have hit near Chehalis, about 90 miles south of the city, turned out to be false, a University of Washington scientist who specializes in meteorites said.

Toby Smith, a lecturer in astronomy, told The Associated Press scientists were looking into the cause of the skybursts reported over a wide area about 2:40 a.m.

Witnesses along a 60-mile swath of the sound from near Tacoma to Whidbey Island and as far as 100 miles to the east near Ellensburg said the sky lit up brightly, and many also reported booming sounds as if from one or more explosions.

Officials at the National Weather Service ruled out any weather-related causes, and duty officers at the Federal Aviation Administration and the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station told The Associated Press they knew of no civilian or military airplane problems.

Civilian pilots reported seeing the flash from Ellensburg, east of the Cascade Range, said an FAA duty officer who did not give her name.



At Whidbey Island, Petty Officer Andrew Davis said he and other saw the skyburst.

"It made a pretty big bang," Davis said. "We thought it could maybe be a meteorite (a meteor that has struck Earth) or something."

A man who identified himself as University of Washington astronomy professor Bradley Hammermaster told KIRO Radio a team was being assembled to head for an area where the meteor was believed to have hit, but that call appeared to be a hoax, Smith said.

No one by the name of Hammermaster is known to the astronomy department, and the description given by the caller to the station of the object - an automobile-sized piece of a small car from a piece of the larger Trilene meteor - was clearly bogus, Smith added.




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Yet Another Vehicle Struck by Projectile

CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS (WWLP) - More local vehicles have been struck and damaged by objects on local highways. The crisis that began Monday night on I-91 in Longmeadow is now widening to other cities, and another highway. The latest attack involves a truck hit on I-391 near exit 4 in Chicopee. It was struck at noon today. A car was hit on the same stretch of highway, just last night. In the case of the truck, the windows were not destroyed. That is in stark contrast to last night's target. In that case, 2 professionals were heading southbound on 391 when their Honda accord was struck, shooting glass into the car. Fortunately no people have been struck or hurt. Police spent the day looking for clues on and near I-391. A massive search is underway on the ground. Police have targeted woods and brush along the highway, looking for clues and suspects. Another part of the search is from the air. A state police helicopter and its 2-man crew have been hovering over the area all day. Troopers Matthew Dominarski and Jeffrey McDonald are serving double duty on this case, as state troopers for 16 years, and pilots of a police helicopter that's been on patrol since Sunday. The pellet or BB shootings, if that's what they turn out to be, haven't been lethal but the case is being taken seriously because it could have serious consequences.