KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasFire in Las Vegas Sky Caused by Military Flare
A fireball lit up the night sky over north Las Vegas last night sending hundreds of people pouring from their homes.
While no one was sure what was happening last night, Channel 8 learned that it was an accident - a flare fired by a Nellis pilot.
A commander at the Nellis air force base answered questions about how this happened.
The flare landed about 4 miles south of the base. Military leaders at Nellis call it an accident. It's one that could be seen for miles.
Channel 8 received a home video from north Las Vegas that shows the flare.
A-10 warthog accidentally shot off this military illumination flair. It did what it was supposed to do - light up the ground so troops can see in combat. But this wasn't enemy territory it was north Las Vegas.
Julie Vivar saw it and grabbed her video camera.
"We were sitting here in the couch watching TV. All of a sudden a big old bright light came through the window," Julie Vivar, witness, says.
She heard a military plane circling overhead and saw the light coming right over her home.
"It sort of sailed like this just going through the sky until it got low down there and that was it," she says.
It appeared to sail because this type of flare has a parachute attached giving anyone on the ground enough time to get the lay of the land at night.
The flare landed on a residential street. A white powdery substance marks the spot where the flare hit the ground very close to a house.
In this case the flare looked spectacular, but did not injure anyone. It also didn't damage any personal property. Pilots at Nellis Air Force Base fly more than 130 missions a day. This is the first time a flare has fallen off a plane into a neighborhood.Click here to read the FAA's procedures on military flares.
Send feedback to reporter Edward Lawrence at elawrence@klastv.com.
