Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Argentina: A Firestarting Bolide?

Source: El Eco Digital
Date: 02.06.2008

Argentina: A Firestarting Bolide?

Witnesses claim that a strange object started the formidable fire in the mountains
Presence of a strange object in the sky - theory gains increasing strength

Another fire was recorded last night near Rancho de Popy, which was controlled by local firefighters, who explained that it was normal for fires to restart. For this reason they continued monitoring the area. However, witnesses claim having seen a strange object in the area ravaged by flames.

At the same time that the firefighters struggled to quench the flames, the rumor spread along the Tandil sierras that "a UFO was to blame." Others said : "It was a fireball," and still others insisted: "No, no, it was a ball of many colors that fell right in the middle of the hill."

Thus, hours have gone by and eyewitness accounts have added up right after another, increasing in sensationalism and being added to other possibilities amenable to the popular belief system, considering what could have been responsible for starting such an early morning bonfire.

El Eco de Tandil had the chance to chat with a local who preferred to remain anonymous: "Otherwise I won't be able to go outside due to the joshing I'll be subjected to," he apologized, while recounting his amazing story which led us to Route 30 on the way to Buenos Aires.

"I was with my companion on a business trip to Buenos Aires. The sky was starry on a calm early morning, almost on the verge of sunrise. We felt privileged to be able to see the phenomenon that was taking place -- all lined up we could see the Moon, Venus and Jupiter. It was remarkable to see and we felt privileged." But all of this suddenly changed when a red light -- that did not fall into anyone's plan and had not been described by the local newspapers, who had announced the alignment phenomenon --- crossed the sky at high speed.

"It all lasted between five and ten seconds. The red light travelled at great speed toward Tandil and descended toward the ground, until it vanished from our sight. It all happened so quickly that we didn't have a chance to react. As soon as we saw the light we hit the brakes and pulled over in an effort to take photos or film it with the cellphone, but I didn't even have enough time to draw the cellphone from my pocket."

At this point, the traveler suggested that "it could have been a piece of space junk, because it wasn't a star or an airplane. And I don't believe in UFOs," he said in closing. But one must add the same thing that is said of witches -- they don't exist, but they're there.

Meanwhile, the national media has also picked up the story about the events that could have started the fire that blazed a thousand hectares of the Tandil landscape. On the internet, one of the most popular news mediums, we find the digital page of renowned journalist and broadcaster Chiche Gelblung, who put up an article on his website entitled: "Is it True That A UFO Caused the Fires in Tandil?"

The article goes on to say that "only two weeks ago, a researcher interviewed by Minutouno.com had forecasted it: A UFO flap was in the works. And this is what appears to have kicked off in Tandil. Various eyewitnesses alerted the media to the fact that they had seen an enormous fireball shortly before the fire that devastated hundreds of hectares in recent hours."

Wintesses claimed over the air that an unidentified flying object crashed on Cerro de las Animas around 4 a.m. on Monday. This was the hill that caught fire this morning. To these callers, the skyfall was the cause of the fire that caused severe damage and the evacuation of homes and a hotel."

"It was like an enormous fireball and it fell behind the hill," another local told this program. Immediately, others emerged to corroborate the report, among them a worker for a local metallurgical firm, who said that the UFO gave off an intense glow and its size was similar to the that of the full Moon.

With the coincidence of the start of the the most intense fire, many felt the temptation to tie up these loose ends. However, firefighters believe that the fire began before this odd phenomenon was reported. Meanwhile, the event has become the sole topic of conversation in the town," says the otherworldly report.


FOR MORE INFORMATION: El Eco Digital - http://www.eleco.com.ar

(Translation (c) 2008, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Christian Quintero, Planeta UFO)