About
11 years ago, thousands of Phoenix-area residents reported seeing several
lights in a "V" formation hovering over the city. The US Air Force
said the so-called "Phoenix Lights" were flares, but many still
believe they were of extraterrestrial origin.
This
past Monday night, it happened again. Mysterious red lights hovered in the sky
over the north Valley, appearing in formations which shifted from a line, to a
square, to a triangle.
This
time, the Air Force had no explanation. Neither did NORAD or air traffic
controllers at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. All said there were no planes on
radar at the time.
One
witness was Annie Braslawsce. She told KTVK-3, "It was really close to the
star, and when it would go really close, and then go fast far away... It was
just unbelievable. I thought it was the coolest thing. It was pretty
intense."
As
it turns out, however, the latest appearance of the Phoenix Lights has a pretty
simple explanation. This time, we know it really was flares. An area man who
asked not to be identified told KTVK that after the sun went down Monday night,
he tied road flares to four big helium balloons using fishing line, then
released them at one-minute intervals.
So,
does this mean the original 1997 Phoenix Lights could also have been flares, as
the Air Force claimed? The man behind Monday's stunt says, could be... but he
wasn't involved in that one.