Vancouver Island was among the areas in southern B.C. and the Pacific Northwest that generated reports of a bright light in the sky about 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
It flashed through the darkness only briefly before it was gone, said a Victoria cab driver, who didn't want his name used.
“I thought it was a comet,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything that big in the sky.”
The American Meteor Society website recorded 115 “fireball” reports from B.C., Oregon and Washington around the same time. One report from the Malahat called the sighting “the most stunning event I have ever seen.”
The cab driver said he was travelling along Wale Road in the Westshore when the light appeared.
“I’ve seen shooting stars, I’ve seen meteor showers a few years ago, but this was unbelievable.”
It appeared to have a tail, he said, and “was like something out of a movie.”
A number of his passengers mentioned having seen it, as well, he said.
Dan Gunn was in the crowd at the Rifflandia festival in downtown Victoria when he spotted the light.
“The whole crowd kind of went a little nuts about it.”
He said there was debate over whether it could have been a flare or a Roman candle, but it was just too big for either of those.
- - -
A video shot during Death Cab for Cutie's performance at Rifflandia, posted to YouTube, shows the flash of light at 11 seconds.
