Man’s home may have been destroyed by meteor

A man’s dog was killed and his house was destroyed in a fire, which could have been caused by a meteor. The Penn Valley Fire Department were called to the home at 7.26pm on November 4, and managed to contain the fire after three hours, with help from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Video shared to local news outlets showed what looks like a ball of fire falling from the sky close to a road.Dustin Procita, who lived in Nevada County with two dogs, told NBC affiliate KCRA he heard “a big bang” in his community.He said: ‘I started to smell smoke, and I went on to my porch, and it was completely engulfed in flames.’NBC shared the video of what appears to be a ball of fire, and showed it to Mr Procita.After he saw the clip, he said: “Oh wow, it looks like a flaming basketball coming out of the sky.” A man’s house was destroyed in a fire, which could have been caused by a meteor (Image: NBC)Speaking to KCRA, Mr Procita added: ‘I heard a big bang. I started to smell smoke and I went onto my porch and it was completely engulfed in flames.’He then said: ‘They said it was a meteor. I’ve always watched meteor showers and stuff as a kid, but I definitely didn’t look forward to them landing in my yard or through my roof. ‘I did not see what it was, but from everybody I talked to — was a flaming ball falling from the sky, landed in that general area.” Captain Josh Miller, with the Penn Valley Fire Department, also told the broadcaster: ‘Meteorite, asteroid — one of those two. “I had one individual tell me about it first and like, okay, I’ll put that in the back of my mind. ‘But then more people — two, three or four more started coming in and talking about it.”Cal Fire spokesperson Mary Eldridge said a dog died in the fire, which also destroyed the house, a travel trailer and a pickup truck.Authorities do not know the cause of the fire, but are investigating whether a meteor could have fallen from the sky on to Mr Procita’s home.Fire Captain Clayton Thomas said: “That is a potential cause, but it’s too early to pinpoint one.”I can say that during the incident many people approached the fire department to say they saw a potential meteor fall in that area. ‘What we haven’t seen yet is any video or witness say that it struck an actual structure.”Capt Thomas added it could be several weeks before the department determines a cause.