ABC affiliate ABC 15 received several reports last night about lights in the sky in northwest Phoenix, around 8:30 pm.
One eyewitness stated in an email to the station that she saw “what looked like 2 meteors falling from the sky, with flames and sparks trailing behind them, began turning and moving. Lights were going off and on, the flames and sparks would come and go.”
The explanation for the lights came rather quickly, with not one, but two explanations offered.
The first explanation came from Phoenix Fire Department spokesman, Scott Walker, who stated that people were seeing parachute exercises (possibly involving pyrotechnics) in the Deer Valley area. However, he was unable to identify the group performing the exercises.
Later, the U.S. Air Force identified the lights as flares from the Barry Goldwater Range, which is the official explanation for the incident.
