NUFORC Sighting 87018

Occurred: 2010-08-20 01:00 Local
Reported: 2012-02-04 17:38 Pacific
Duration: 20-30 minutes
No of observers: 5

Location: Alexandria, NY, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object

3 large, brilliant red-orange fireballs hovered over tree line silently in area of uninhabited woods and lake.

I was staying at a cabin, far from any towns, on the northwest side of a quiet lake, near the far end, with several other people. It’s a very quiet, private location near in upstate, NY, almost to Canada, near Alexandria Bay and the Thousand Islands.

It was a clear night, and I had my telescope out to view the moon. Jupiter rose and it was beautiful through the telescope with 3 moons clearly visible. It rose higher and I left off looking for a while.

Later, around 1AM, I went outside alone and noticed what appeared to be a large reddish-orange fireball just past the opposite shore of the lake, barely above the treeline. It was about the size of a fingernail at arm's length.

I watched for a few minutes, then ran inside to get my boyfriend, his kids, and my son, but the fireball was gone. Later around 2 AM, it appeared again, this time I got everyone right away and everyone saw them. The first moved slightly and then there were 3 fireballs. One slightly higher than the tree line.

The fireballs stayed there for about 15 min. this time. They looked to be actual fire, like burning spheres. At first I thought there must be a factory there or something others locally knew about. But it was odd because the night was silent and clear and the fireballs were completely silent. The lake amplifies every sound so much that if a person were to talk on the other side of the lake, you could hear him or her clearly. We occasionally hear coyotes howl in packs up there. It’s very wild and out in “the middle of nowhere.”

My son, who was 20 years old at the time, would like me to report that what he saw appeared "light and dark orange" and "pearlescent" in color. He said it appeared to be swirling in itself, and he saw it as “above the mountains on the horizon.” That is all that happened, and when I saw the person whose family owns the cabin, I asked about the fireballs, and he had no idea what I was talking about. Further inquiry revealed no one else who knew anything about the fireballs or had seen them. Also, I discovered that there is nothing but rocks, woods, and hills in that direction on the other side of the lake. Also, it is notable that I experienced this sighting and called these objects “fireballs” before I knew there were any other similar sightings around the country and the world.

Posted 2012-02-10