-
- In the famous axiom of Sherlock Holmes: "The best
place to hide something is right in front of someone." This statement
seems appropriate to the recent events surrounding the mystery Arkansas
crash/fire of March 9, 2000.
-
- With respect to this enigmatic fire (my use of the term
is intentional) there are many questions that remain unanswered. Things
simply do not 'add up.' While some are suggesting this case may be 'closed,'
others are asking pointed questions which demand solid answers.
-
- One such question is: Why did someone go back to the
site and fill in the holes? ...many of which were photographed, before
and after, through the diligence of Al Collier at the request of Peter
Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporting Center.
-
- Another question might be: Why were reports of 'flames
unusually sparkly which suggested some kind of incendiary chemical' reduced
to: 'perhaps the effect of a bolide?'
-
- Why was Bobby Sisk, a Reporter with KTHV (CBS-TV), Little
Rock, Arkansas, so "unsettled" by a fire scene he described as
"very, very, bizarre"? After all, this man is a veteran reporter
who has been around and seen many things. Why then, or what was it about
this event, that raised a red flag with his sixth sense?
-
- Some are suggesting that perhaps a cumulative effect
of fertilization over the years caused the soil/vegetation to combust.
To that I would ask: Why did only the unfarmed land covered with old growth
burn? The farm land adjacent to the primary burn site, which probably does
get fertilized, did not burn.
-
- Consider this interesting report from an Arkansas source:
-
- "Talked to (someone) last night who was on the helicopter
when it went up to Scott. He said that it was strangest thing he had ever
seen. About a mile of the levy was on fire, then there were lots of smaller
fires spread out over a mile. It looked like there was a circular center
that didn't have any fire in it.
-
- There was one on a tiny island, completely surrounded
by water. Apparently, there was a fisherman about 3-4 miles upstream on
the river who said there was a 'shooting star' that had been extremely
bright that was very, very close. One of the sheriff's deputies had also
seen an extremely bright shooting star shortly before they had gotten calls
of a possible plane crash.
-
- (on file) said that he didn't get a chance to get back
out in the daylight to see a daylight version of it, but that he would
ask a friend of his, a (on file) pilot, if he went out there the next day.
If he hears anything, he'll call back. He also said that there were no
indications of military of government vehicles, except for "a whole
lot of police and fire" moving into the area. He was out there for
a while."
-
- Another compelling question is: If indeed it was a bolide,
why did scientists from NASA, or other scientists with great interest in
such anomalus celestial phenomena, not show up as they did at the site
of the Alaska January, 2000 meteroite explosion?. Consider this Reuters
headline story of 3-17-00: Meteorite Fragments In The Northwest Called
'Cosmic Bonanza' For Scientists.
-
- Dr. Michael Zolensky, a cosmic mineralogist at NASA's
Johnson Space Center, suggests that this type of event is so rare that
it will probably never happen again in his lifetime. Why then, when it
has been suggested that indeed a bolide did impact the area near Scott,
Arkansas, have scientists not rushed in for what is truly a second 'opportunity
of a life time'?
-
- Further, one of the most compelling statements made to
date came from Sgt. Clifford Stone, who states he worked with secret NBC
Army teams to recover anomalous objects for 22 years. When asked what he
thought about the event, Stone suggested to invesitgator Al Collier that
it appeared the multiple small 'craters' at the Arkansas site which have
mysteriously been filled in with dirt several days after the event, and
their adjacent areas, had been 'scorched with butane.' Collier was stunned
because this is exactly what the scene looked like. Stone said this without
ever having seen photos of the site.
-
- Over the gulf of several hundred hours of conversation
with Sgt. Stone I have learned many things, not the least of which is:
where the good Sgt. feels he might be compromising classified material,
he will make a 'suggestion,' rather than make a statement of fact. Was
Stone carefully citing an old NBC protocol for such an event?
-
- Additionally, one is reminded of the 'shooting star/fireball'
that flew low over northwest LA and hit the ground several years ago; an
event witnessed by tens of thousands of people, including Dr. Roger Leir.
This fireball was described as coming to earth after 'changing course'
over the Santa Susana mountains. Two visits to the site by an AF General
(reserves) were made. The first occurred the day after the 'crash' and
the General encountered armed military personnal, with no insignia, who
refused him entry to the site. Upon returning to the area with his full
credentials, he was allowed in and upon his demand was told that "a
spacecraft was in trouble, landed here, was repaired, and took off this
morning." A visit to that site a couple days later by other researchers,
including Dr. Leir, revealed a scene of an entire hillside 'scorched' and
blackened as if by a 'butane torch.' Do I think a spacecraft landed near
Scott, Arkansas? No. Were military personnel observed in the area? No.
However, indications of something very strange having occurred are unmistakeable.
-
- Perhaps a "clean up" of sorts did take place
there. Perhaps not. For now, we can only speculate. However, it will be
interesting to see what the various soil-test-results, will expose. My
instincts tell me they will not all point in the same direction.
-
- To date, I feel there has been significant fertilizer
spread about, with respect to this event. To that, I respectfully submit
my own speculations. _____
-
-
- Comment
-
- From Mary Carreira <MCARREIRA@prodigy.net 3-18-00
-
- Hi Jeff...Regarding the Arkansa fires-
-
- It's to bad that NIDS did not send someone to gather
samples of the ash since they have there own nationally-accredited labs
they work with. Two months is a long time to wait for the results that
were sent by others and I'm sure they were sent to government affiliated
labs. It was not mentioned on your show where Al Collier had sent his.
Is the time frame for the results the same as the local authorities? Can
we be assured that the findings will be truthful in their content?
-
- Enjoy your show very much
-
- Mary Carreira _____
-
-
-
- In the March 16, 2000 issue of the Arkansas Daily Democrat
and Gazette, the Jefferson County Sheriff tried to make the England fireball
site go away, but has been caught in a deeper cover-up.
-
- The article includes: "But Butler said a witness
emerged Wednesday to tell investigators he had seen the fire on the property
March 8, the day before the falling star shot through the sky."
-
- Now, this may be true that an unnamed farmer may have
reported that, but WHAT ABOUT THE FIRE FIGHTERS? There is no possible denying
that numerous emergency equipment fought an unusual fire AFTER the 'shooting
star' was seen.
-
- The evidence does not confirm the statement about the
fire, and that evidence is the State of Arkansas's own Emergency Management
website and office. Good try.
-
- The most truthful statement in the article was: Nearly
a week later, Jefferson County sheriff's Lt. Eugene Butler still doesn't
know the precise cause. But he could say for certain Wednesday that it
was not a meteor. Butler had no doubt that a meteor did fall, though --
several people reported it, including Rehrauer (of the Pulaski County Sheriff's
office).
-
- About the change of the date of the fire, the last lines
of the article may sum-up the attitude among county and state officials:
Hunt was hoping the eyewitness account would still the rumors and quiet
his phone. "That," he said, "should probably put to rest
any theories that we might have had a UFO or whatever land out there."
-
-
- Here is the entire article:
-
- Rumors Link Meteor Sighting, Brush Fire
-
- By Mark MInton - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
-
- http://www.ardemgaz.com/today/ark/B1xmystery16.html
-
- 3-16-00
-
-
- A falling star arced across the central Arkansas skies
last Thursday night, its fiery tale lingering as it descended. About two
hours later, a caller reported a fire burning a patch of brush southwest
of England. Nearly a week later, investigators have determined that the
falling star did not start the fire. But it did start a commotion. As news
of the meteor and the mysterious fire spread, theories began to circulate
and phones began to ring. "Everybody's speculating," said the
woman tending the lunch counter Wednesday at The Country Store on Arkansas
256 at Wright. "I like the one about the little green men, myself."
Like the men in the lunch crowd inside the gray cinder-block store, where
the sign out front promises "Beer, Ammunition, Hardware," the
counter woman was willing to repeat the good-natured UFO banter but not
to attach her name to it. For more gossip, the group recommended the Brodie
Bend bar and pool hall, housed in a former bait shop just up the highway.
-
- Brodie Bend patrons said word of the mysterious fire
was spreading Wednesday through a noontime television report aired in the
bar. The radio waves were also carriers, as the England fire was mentioned
on at least one national radio show that takes calls about UFOs, according
to one weary Jefferson County sheriff's official who said he heard it on
the way home. Meantime, media inquiries kept Wally Hunt's phones ringing
at the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management in Pine Bluff.
-
- "We've had calls from CBS New York and various other
nationwide agencies," Hunt said Wednesday. "I'm not going to
estimate how many calls I got" after news of the fire and the meteor
hit the news wires Friday, Hunt said. Pulaski County sheriff's office spokesman
John Rehrauer said that a woman identifying herself as a radio news reporter
from New Jersey questioned him about the meteor, which he saw as it fell.
He said she published it on her UFO Web site. The phones were also ringing
at the Jefferson County sheriff's office, where investigators have been
looking into the cause of the fire since the first report came in about
11 p.m. March 9.
-
- The caller reported a "mushroom-type ball of fire"
southwest of England at the point where Jefferson, Lonoke and Pulaski counties
adjoin. Hunt said the caller thought an airplane might have crashed and
initially reported the fire to Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field.
The airport relayed the alert to authorities, Hunt said, and an Arkansas
State Police helicopter that happened to be in the area had a look but
found no evidence of a plane crash. Since determining there was no crash,
investigators have been working to establish what did cause the fire. Nearly
a week later, Jefferson County sheriff's Lt. Eugene Butler still doesn't
know the precise cause. But he could say for certain Wednesday that it
was not a meteor. Butler had no doubt that a meteor did fall, though --
several people reported it, including Rehrauer. But Butler said a witness
emerged Wednesday to tell investigators he had seen the fire on the property
March 8, the day before the falling star shot through the sky.
-
- The witness, a retired farmer who Butler said did not
want his name released, did not view the fire as an immediate concern and
did not report it that day. Hunt was hoping the eyewitness account would
still the rumors and quiet his phone. "That," he said, "should
probably put to rest any theories that we might have had a UFO or whatever
land out there." _____
-
-
- Comment
-
- From Dennis Hopper <drh@inu.net 3-19-00
-
- Jeff,
-
- I lived in the Piney Woods of east Texas. I have carefully
viewed the picture of the Arkansas fire causing such a stir and see nothing
odd. When trees die or are cut down the stump will rot level with the ground.
The ground around the tree is slightly uplifted from the growth of the
roots underneath. When the stump catches fire it burns slowly downward
leaving the impression of a "crater" As the roots burn, they
leave an extension to the crater exactly like the ones in the photos. The
best way to extinguish the fire is to fill the hole with dirt to deprive
it of oxygen. Left unattended the stump will burn a very long time. I have
seen a stump burn for more than two weeks. The embers will occasionally
"pop" and throw sparks off relighting any unburned material nearby.
Also if the hole is not filled and the stump continues to burn the hole
becomes so deep it is a hazard to any livestock, large game or people in
the area.
-
- The long lines of white ash is the result of the fallen
tree rotting away, leaving only the heartwood which is resin saturated
and highly flammable. It burns very fast and hot and leaves the white ash.
Here we call it "Rich Lighter Pine" and it is used to start campfires.
These heartwood cores are usually unnoticed before the fire as they are
covered by fallen leaves and pine needles.
-
- I am not saying that there isn't a mystery there, but
it isn't the fire site, it's what started the fire and what the witnesses
saw in the sky.
-
- Dennis Hopper
-
- Note - see Al Collier's site for updated pictures showing
how someone has gone out there and filled in all of the 'craters' with
dirt.
-
-
-
- Arkansas Mystery - A Bolide? - Data Says No
-
- From Brenda Livingston
-
- 3-17-00
-
- Dear Jeff
-
- I was not aware that bolides or fireballs or meteors
could cause so much explosive and incendiary activity... perhaps on a very
rare occasion...(?) Most meteorites (those rocks, etc. that come to the
ground) no longer spark... usually ending ablation 20 km above the earth.
Most are usually very cold or ambient temp when they reach the ground...
difficult for them to ignite a fire... and really hard for them to be the
source of a combustion of the soil or chemicals in the soil.
-
- Excerpted from the American Meteor Society FAQ:
-
- "8. Can a meteorite dropping fireball be observed
all the way to impact with the ground?
-
- No. At some point, usually between 15 to 20 km (9-12
miles or 48,000-63,000 feet) altitude, the meteoroid remnants will decelerate
to the point that the ablation process stops, and visible light is no longer
generated. This occurs at a speed of about 2-4 km/sec (4500-9000 mph).
-
- From that point onward, the stones will rapidly decelerate
further until they are falling at their terminal velocity, which will generally
be somewhere between 0.1 and 0.2 km/sec (200 mph to 400 mph). Moving at
these rapid speeds, the meteorite(s) will be essentially invisible during
this final "dark flight" portion of their fall.
-
- 9. Are meteorites "glowing" hot when they reach
the ground?
-
- Probably
-
-
- Transfer interrupted!
-
- urs over the majority of the meteorite's path, is a very
efficient heat removal method, and was effectively copied for use during
the early manned space flights for re-entry into the atmosphere. During
the final free-fall portion of their flight, meteorites undergo very little
frictional heating, and probably reach the ground at only slightly above
ambient temperature."
-
- It appears that people on the scene reported finding
no meteorites. Some even reported finding no craters... although it is
quite apparent that there were several at the scene (as seen in Al Collier's
photos).
-
- I think that it was reported that NORAD and others said
that there was no space junk or meteors in the area that could account
for what people were seeing in the skies or what might have impacted on
the ground.
-
- The heat necessary to combust soil or chemicals within
soil would be tremendously hotter than that emanating from a fallen meteorite(s).
The fireperson on the scene in Arkansas reported intense heat on the scene
-- so intense that firefighting efforts had to be postponed from the ground.
-
- If this was simply a bolide meteor event which started
the fire... which no one... including the sheriff thought it was... why
would someone find it necessary to work with heavy equipment in the wee
hours of early morning covering up craters and the area with soil? It seems
that they would want to keep the area intact for further investigation
by scientists interested in meteorite phenomena.
-
- My understanding is that a bolide explosion likely would
happen miles above the earth. Such an explosion would not be a rising mushroom
cloud moving upward from the earth.
-
- Am I missing something? If someone has information about
bolides that is not in the above materials... I would like to learn about
it. If a bolide were the cause of these fires -- I believe this would be
an extraordinary event...maybe as spectacular as a UFO crash...
-
- In my opinion the mystery continues!
-
- Brenda Livingston
-
-
-
- Comment
-
-
- From Jerry Kirkegaard <jkirkegaard@bigbear.net 3-20-00
-
-
- Hi Jeff
-
- I noticed some thing regarding the photos of Al Collier,
in particular the depression photos. For an object that has been presented
as a meteor or bolide the depression photos show no indication of DIRECTION
as the object made contact with the ground. If there had directional motion
on contact it would tend to push or plow some ground in the direction of
motion kind of like a dirt wave except when all energy has been spent we
are left with this dirt mound at the rim of the depression on the side
of direction of travel. In the photos it showed vertical sides around
the perimeter of the depressions which would indicate something came straight
down. It would very interesting to know if there was an aerial photo to
see if these depressions were in a symmetrical in configuration ie landing
gear. Maybe, just maybe this object came and left vertically in the confusion
of the known fire storm????
-
- Best Regards
- Jerry
-
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