Mysterious Flash of Light in Phoenix Explained
- Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:07am by
Liz Klimas
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PHOENIX (The Blaze/AP) — At least one mystery of the Phoenix lights has been solved. Last week, we reported that a large, fleeting flash of light appeared in the darkened skies over the northwestern edge of metropolitan Phoenix.
This light, which flashed just days before the 15-year anniversary of the “Phoenix Lights,” is no longer a mystery.
Arizona Public Service said Monday that a breaker on an electrical line opened, causing a big flash and a brief power outage.
APS officials say an employee came forward last weekend and informed them of the breaker opening that caused no damage to equipment and no power line replacement.
The ball of light that looked like an explosion was captured by a traffic camera on Interstate 17 around 4:45 a.m. last Thursday.
It happened to be broadcast by KSAZ-TV when the station showed footage of the roadway during a report on the morning’s commute. Watch the footage:
But until now, nobody could identify the flash’s source.
The 1997 event known as the “Phoenix Lights” occurred 15 years ago today, March 13. This event was characterized by mysterious orbs seen above Phoenix, visible by the surrounding area, and a strangely shaped, flying triangular object.
Obs in the Phoenix sky on March 13, 1997. (Photo: PhoenixLights.net)
Artist rendition of what reports of the triangular object seen in the sky looked like. (Image: USA Today)
More than 3,500 military and commercial pilots and 10,000 people on the ground in Phoenix alone reported seeing the lights in 1997. Some have maintained there is a perfectly reasonable natural or manmade explanation for what was seen in the sky that night. For example, the U.S. Military has said it very well could have been aircraft flying in formation and dropping flares. Still, others believe what they saw is convincing evidence for extraterrestrial UFOs.
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Comments (79)
sizzlinsexybeckster
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:37am… and Arizona is top on the list of the world for missing people… hmm, I figured the illegal aliens from Mexico took all our women and children to their raping facilities for men (men suck) to rape and have their evil pleasures with… they do that here in the states as well, but of course (mostly in las vegas), you’ll never see the media cover it or actually rescue any of these human beings.
I guess some missing people are from worlds beyond, too…. hopefully they are being treated more nicely than here.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 12:26pmOnly the males in the LGBLT suck. And quite a few in CAIR. Oh, most NOI and BLT members too. Perhaps you would get hugs and kisses from those groups.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 2:43pmA Ronulan Paulbot walked under a transformer while his tinfoil hat had it’s antennae crossed…Tragic…very tragic.
Report Post »scruffycat
Posted on March 14, 2012 at 3:53amIts a fuseable link made out of copper that instantly turned into plasma. They use those to tie side-streets onto the main feeder lines. When there is a short on the high-lines those copper breakers are supposed to first interrupt when the short occurs, like if a bird or a squirrel makes connection across the wires and fries itself, then milliseconds later the breaker closes again trying to re-establish power to that street but if the squirrel is still in the wires burning and smoking when the breaker closes again it will try to blow the debris out of the lines. It does that a couple of times and if the short is still there then the breaker finally rests and explodes in a big huge copper plasma ball and the street goes dark until SCE or Avista or whoever comes out to clear the short and renew the breakers.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:08amThat sure is one big spark. I’ve seen transformers explode, big ones we were testing to failure, and they weren’t that bright.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:23amRemember, this camera was shooting video at night, which means that like many surveillance cameras, it probably had an image intensifier and the flash was enhanced by it. Also, with an image intensifier, you get all of the infrared light that the human eye cannot see. I used to repair NVG’s and while in Iraq, I was using my laptop and listening to music while working and thought I had a broken pair of NVG’s because they kept flashing brightly. Long story short, it was the infrared connection on my laptop blinking lighting up the entire room.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 1:12pmOfficial Explainations… usually smack of BS!
Report Post »sillyfreshness
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 2:23pmThe other thing about it is that explosion doesn’t start at the bottom of the ground and work up to a climax (all in a millisecond). The explosion starts off already at max size and works its way down to the ground. Kind of looks like the opposite of an explosion in slow motion.
Report Post »Pucci
Posted on March 14, 2012 at 12:43amyes they where-you just dun it in de day time
Report Post »titan
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 10:29amin 1997 i was on the roof of my house in glendale watching those lights. no one can tell me that that wasn’t a UFO, no one. i saw what i saw and it was a UFO.
Report Post »libtardian-refugee
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:17amI thought it might have been a Chevy Volt having mechanical problems, but not in 1997
Report Post »mgliberty12
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:43amthat wasn’t a UFO.
Report Post »Belchfire V-8
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:45amThe lights were military aircraft flares. One of my 2 jobs in 25 years of military service was munitions.
Report Post »menticide
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 3:17pmTechnically speaking, anything that is seen in the sky that cannot be identified by the witness who is viewing it is an Unidentified Flying Object, whether that object be man-made, or alien-made… Personally I like a bit of mystery in life. Must everything be explained away? It takes away some of the fun in life…
Report Post »Belchfire V-8
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 4:19pmWe have EC-130′s, A-10′s, and F-16′s flying out here at the Fort Indiantown Gap range. I see the flares from my farm. I grab the pop corn and diet green tea and enjoy. The local tin foil hat crowd then calls in UFO reports. They want to believe SO badly. Sorry, Molder and Scully aren’t needed here or in Arizona.
Report Post »muggl3z
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 6:49pmI believe you. I know people from Arizona who saw the lights and I’ve seen police officers give interviews about what they saw.
At this point I think most rational people have to agree; something is up.
Report Post »scruffycat
Posted on March 14, 2012 at 4:00amI was listening to coast to coast am with art bell that night of the Phoenix lights UFO flyover. Hard to believe it was 15 years ago. Oh the good old days.
Report Post »AmericanStrega
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 10:26am” For example, the U.S. Military has said it very well could have been aircraft flying in formation and dropping flares.” Geez, hope they don’t drop them flares during fire season!
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:43amThe ready season is over. We are in the aim season. Next up, the fire season.
Report Post »youdidthis
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 4:24pmbs,
we have been in a drought. next you will tell us that all the aluminum being dumped on us is “chaff”
stop . just stop the lies.
Report Post »CATPBJ
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 10:21amI’m glad that this was finally figured out. I couldn’t sleep not knowing that there was an unexplained flash of light in the Phoenix area. I read that it was a UFO, elsewhere I had heard that it was the second coming of Christ or the beginning of the Rapture. And yet other websites mentioned that it was a Rick Santorum rally and the light was from Rick’s halo because, as we all know, Rick is a Saint and he does not have any of that phony theology stuff that he seems to detest so much, as in the phony theology displayed by President Obama and his wife and daughters. You know what I mean. Any body who does not believe every word coming from the mouth of Little Ricky or else will not vote for Little Ricky Santorum has the phony theology he talks about. Phony theology is a killa. Just ask Saint Rick!
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 10:12amNever trust the Government when they say something different remember the smoke trail off the coast of California?
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:41amYet the question of how so many weapons found their way into Mexico remains a mystery. Is it just me or does something smell in America?
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:45amThat’s the largest import that America has. SMELL.
Report Post »DeVain
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:31amAgain, all I see is a hot reporter…….
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:43amthat is so sexist, go into the light…
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 10:42amSexist? True. But also very, VERY accurate.
Frankly, I couldn‘t give a hoot about the ’strange light’. It‘s that smokin’ hot little reporter that keeps me coming back to these articles! Wish there were more of her posted here……
Report Post »linearnonlinear
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:22amSo they say !
Report Post »Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:47amDon’t you know there waas a logical explanation! Yeh! Transformer, whjat kind pof transforme? An electrical transformer? I’ve been aroind a couple small transformer explosions. Talk about a frickin’ – BOOM! But as a previous poster said the PSC wouldn’t lie to you. Of course your mindset has to right to lie.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:33amCalled it.
Report Post »cranberry
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:31amThey said it was not a transformer, that in itself kept the story alive like a week longer than it should have been.. Come on. Simple explanation. Should have trusted my own instincts, I mean what else could it have been. Seriously. The little green men havent shown up yet.
Report Post »Bids
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:29am“Blazers” are all disappointed it wasn’t Jesus or a UFO. Those are the only two logical explanations. Oh, and the country being invaded by Muslims.
Report Post »Choctaw25
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:41amWe have already been invaded by nim wits such as yourself, I would welcome someone with a higher intelligence than the likes of you and those like you.
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:44am25
Report Post »Great post. Barry’s Takers never seem to do anything with their own money.
old white guy
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:04amwhen Jesus returns even you will have no difficulty identifying Him.
Report Post »22
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:18am@ 25 Perfect! As my Jedi Master said.” Who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows”. Lemmings. So many Lemmings.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 11:50amIf the Lemmings had ID cards, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But, nooooo. The Dems wouldn’t allow it.
Report Post »dannyo
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:11amthought maybe it was a chevy volt rally gone awry..
Report Post »22
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 9:19amLol!
Report Post »expatinontariocanada
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:11amWhew, I thought it must have been one of those old weather balloons hitting a power line. Seriously, no damage? I’m thinking, NO!
Report Post »P4cooler
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:02amStop insulting our intelligence! Our neighborhood is teaming with life and it is time to lift the veil.
Report Post »Tandem2011
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:51amExtraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:22amYea, and I believe this explanation just like the one we got a few years back of the “ airplane flume ” off the CA coast that looked like a rocket.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:17amMany data centers and facilities with mission-critical electrical needs, have backup generators.
Many of those even have power supplied by two “separate” electrical grids (at least separate transformers).
When switching between one electrical supply and another, they often use
“EXPLOSIVE BREAKERS”
The time it takes to throw the switch manually takes too long, and would result in downtime and possible equipment damage. Using an explosive charge to throw the switch, is designed to throw the switch in a split second, to avoid power interruption.
I don’t know this is what happened, but, it is one scenario.
Report Post »I used to review and approve/reject such equipment and changes to it for a major telecom and for a few major companies you likely do business with frequently.
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:22am.
Report Post »And all this time I thought a Frat-Boy lit a fart……….
Gonzo
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:21amGosh, glad that’s settled…I haven’t slept for days.
Report Post »HappyHaloHousewife
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:32amThanks for the laugh!
Report Post »ConservativeKen
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:21amWhen I first seen the video I knew it was a transformer. Seen it before so no mystery to me. What’s a true mystery is that pink stuff the government is calling meat.
Report Post »conservativejon
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:19amstill think it was a Volt
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:59amYeah, another one goes up in flames
OMG
Report Post »blanco5
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:16amWell if the az public service says it was a transformer, then it must be true! They wouldn’t lie to us. (sarcasm font desperately needed)
Report Post »9111315
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:51amUm . . . . “ a breaker on an electrical line opened”
Still not a transformer. Like do you really believe in Optimums Prime?
Report Post »jens63
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:15amIt seems to me in the original article they said there were no electrical issues at that time?
Report Post »9111315
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:48amAnd the quality of a reporter’s investigative skill would never be in question. I bet the conducted a full Google search and checked Wikipedia.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:12amBummer, because I really thought it Connor McCloud of the Clan McCloud consuming an immortal’s power saying “There can only be one.”
Report Post »ConservativeKen
Posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:19amLOL I like that
Report Post »rconk
Posted on March 18, 2012 at 6:40pmIn the end, there can be only one – may be it Duncan MacLeod
Report Post »