12/26/2007

Associated Press

Could it have been Rudolph's nose, gleaming brightly? Or maybe just a meteorite in the making?

All across Central Oregon Monday night, there were reports of a fireball seen streaking to the ground.

Keith Clinton, who lives east of Bend, reported to KTVZ-TV that he saw a "large, bright green fireball descend out of the cloudless sky east of Bend."

Clinton said the fireball turned yellow and exploded about 10 degrees above the horizon, breaking into several pieces as it did.

Meanwhile, near Redmond, Spencer Krueger said his wife had seen a "fist-sized flaming orange ball with a tail."

And someone near Prineville called the Crook County Sheriff's Office to report a meteorite that had come crashing to the ground.

Authorities checked with the Redmond Airport to see if any small planes had gone off radar screens or gone missing, but nothing of the sort was reported.

A report of a possible meteor was also phoned into the Washoe County, Nev., sheriff's department Monday night. Sgt. Harry Dixon told the Reno Gazette-Journal that a caller reported seeing a bright red, blue and yellow light falling from the sky.

Dixon said off-duty search and rescue people saw the same thing and started to search. "They immediately said it was a meteor," he said.

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Information from: KTVZ-TV, http://www.ktvz.com/