[meteorite-list] Los Angeles Explosion Not A Meteor, Probably Fireworks Blast

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-orange-county-meteor-20130730,0,7530990.story

Lake Forest explosion not a meteor, probably fireworks blast
By Joseph Serna
Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2013

A blast that rocked an Orange County neighborhood Monday night wasn't 
caused by some intergalactic visitor, such as a meteor from outer space.

Turns out the cause was less "Independence Day" and more of an Independence 
Day type of salute.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department bomb squad determined that the 
late-hour blast was "probably a 2-to-3-inch air-burst pyrotechnic mortar, 
which is a fancy name for a commercial firework, (which is illegal,)" 
said Lt. Jeff Hallock in a message to the Times.

"They confirmed it was NOT a meteor," Hallock said in his message.

About 12:15 a.m., the Orange County Sheriff's Department received three 
or four calls from residents in Lake Forest's Foothill Ranch community 
about a loud explosion and a flash of light. Several South Orange County 
residents tweeted about the incident, asking about the source of the blast.

Entire neighborhoods emptied into the streets in the middle of the night, 
residents said, with some people pointing to what looked like a cloudy 
path overhead as the sign of some galactic visitor.

Seven sheriff's deputies and a helicopter swarmed the area to investigate 
within half an hour of the reports but found nothing.

Hallock said deputies chatting over the radio speculated that it was a 
meteor striking the canyon. The guess was based on witness statements 
and numerous reports of an explosion and flash of light, he said.

As dispatchers guessed about the blast's origin, Foothill Ranch resident 
Korosh Torkzadeh heard them chatting about a meteor over law enforcement 
scanners.

"Am I hearing this right?" the 29-year-old recalled thinking. "At that 
point, it was just kind of amazement."

Southern California Edison said there were no explosions in that area 
Tuesday morning. The Orange County Fire Authority didn't respond to any 
explosions, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena didn't spot 
any asteroids, officials said.

Some paper residue from fireworks was discovered later Monday morning, 
Hallock said.