Fireball lights up California skies

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Early risers in Northern California reported a fireball lighting up the predawn sky Thursday, and began calling in reports of a possible meteor.

Reports staring coming in about 5:25 a.m. PST from people across California and as far away as Fernley, Nev., about 30 miles east of Reno, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"Wow, what a sight to have seen!" David Rivas of Seaside in Monterey County wrote in an email to the newspaper.

Rivas said he and his wife notice the celestial light show while driving north of Monterey.

"It first appeared as a quick movement of sorts, maybe similar to a shooting star or quick lightning strike off to the east," he said.

Then, he said, "it grew into something shaped like a giant orange crayon."

The area had been treated to another cosmic light show Oct. 17 when a meteor lit up the skies and several chunks of it were later found in the Novato, Calif., area of Marin County.