Mysterious booms in Eureka, California

For a few months now, people in eureka have been hearing these strange booms, sometimes accompanied by a flash. I just heard it for the first time yesterday...it was loud enough to be heard over the tv, but I didn't see any flash. I think the weirdest thing is that no one has offered any sort of explanation for what's going on. Nothing from the police, local newspaper or PG&E.

So far, the explanations I've seen proposed are:

• Deep underground military base under Mt. Shasta
  
• Sonic booms from jets
  
• Aliens
  
• Someone had beans for dinner
  
• Meth labs exploding
  
• Kids setting off fireworks
  
• Transformers exploding
  
• Fracking
  

Here are a few eyewitness accounts:

Any idea if a meteorite hit Eureka? At about 1:30 am my wife and I saw a huge flash of light and heard a boom outside our house. I went running out and found nothing and no-one. Meteors aren’t supposed to flash when they hit but it is the only thing I can think of.

There was a tremendous boom/bang preceded by a bluish flash that I could see reflecting on the window a second or so just prior. It was on the east side of us. There was no way you could have slept through it. I'm not sure what time it was, but 12:42-12:45 sounds about right. Because of the flash I thought it was a transformer but tthe explosion was much louder and sounded more like a huge bottle bomb. Our windows didn't rattle but the dog was mighty freaked.

Just heard another one, accompanied by a flash, and this time we were able to spot a sizable cloud of smoke in the same direction. We’re reasonably certain it was smoke from the way it dissipated. We’re in Bayview, and the flash was due west. Could’ve been as far away as the north jetty, or just somewhere behind the mall. I’m guessing homemade mortars.

From what I can tell, the booms started on September 8th... I couldn't find anything before then.

September 8 - TWO MAKES IT TRUE: What Was That Giant Flash and Boom in Eureka Last Night?

October 3 - TWO MAKES IT TRUE: What Went Kaboom on Humboldt Hill Tuesday Night?

October 12 - The Mysterious Boom Goes …Uhh… Boom Again

October 20 - Seeking the Source of the Boom

November 1 - Two Makes It True: Boom Report

November 11 - Boom, Again!

Some more eyewitness accounts on their Facebook page - www.facebook.com...

I hope someone figures out what's going on soon. If it's people playing with explosives they need to be stopped before they hurt someone.

Did the sounds come from the direction of the ocean or from the mountains did you think?

reply to post by Astrithr

Someone had beans for dinner definetly!

Underground pot garden being excavated? It is Humboldt County after all.

Meteors do explode mid air some times.

Not saying that's it, but it would leave little evidence if it was small enough when it exploded and at night you'd not see any smoke or clouds potentially.

EDIT: forgot to mention they are obviously pretty high up when they are small and burn up and you get that bright shooting star flash. The sound would travel nicely.

reply to post by Char-Lee


At least one report said the sound came from the east of them. As no one can live in a house west of the Pacific coast unless you go a long long way, this would indicate that the sound did not come from the direction of the ocean.

reply to post by Char-Lee


I'm not sure about everyone else, but the boom I heard sounded like it came from the west, so towards the ocean. It was odd, it was so loud I really expected to hear sirens afterwards, but there was nothing. I heard them talking about reports of explosions on the scanner though

Guys calm down. Sheriff Jack Carter has everything under control.


I wonder if there is any mining in the area.

It's obviously the Chinese and Aliens getting ready to invade the US.

Did they ever find the culprits who cut the power lines in Humbolt County? Maybe related. I know they haven't found the 500 lbs of explosives taken from up north in Montana yet (taken in April I believe). But people can get these anywhere.

The fact they are happening within city limits means they would have been caught by now (a neighbor). Maybe it's earthquake booms. I've heard of flashes of light accompanying those. If that's even a possibility I would learn more about it to make sure it isn't an omen for an impending major quake.

reply to post by Astrithr


Have you heard other noises. I am close to military base so booms are common and would be hard to differentiate. But have heard some other strange sounds like today. It hard to explain, kinda semi high pitch machine type sound. It was very strange and loud, it was probably coincidence but it was coming directly from the area where the sun.

That kinda freaked me out. Very strange.

The Bot

reply to post by Astrithr




Greetings neighbor to the south,

My haunts generally include Trinidad on the coast and east into the hills from there these days. These booms have been the subject of much speculation but I have yet to hear any of them first hand. If these where originating as far east as Shasta I would think that they would be heard north of Eureka as well.

The first thing I thought of was that the hills and canyons north of Eureka have always been the spot for blowing things up and target shooting. From what I understand these "booms" are strong enough to rattle windows and I thought that perhaps someone has built themselves an epically huge potato cannon.

Penny

This thread caught my attention because last night my husband and I kept hearing a "boom" sound and it was driving us a little nuts because we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It repeated over and over, maybe 20 times. At first we thought it might be distant thunder, but it didn't rumble just the initial "boom" sound. It sounded like it might be coming from our one son's room, however we went upstairs (we live in a split level and our room is what's supposed to be the family room) and couldn't hear anything at all... went outside and stood in the freezing cold, ugh, and still didn't hear anything. We went to the duct work for the central heat thinking it might be an issue there, nuthin'! Our house has those fancy triple pane replacement windows and of course they're all closed because it's almost winter, except for one in the far corner of our room which is left open so our two cats can come and go as they please. We're convinced the sound was coming from outside and we just didn't wait long enough wen we out on the deck ('cuz like I said it's cold) to hear it.

We still don't have a clue what it was, so yeah, this thread caught my attention lol.

I've read other threads in the past about these mystery booms heard round the world, just never thought I'd hear it... nothing that exciting ever happens to me

ETA: We're in South East PA, not California... thought that might be important to note.

reply to post by dlbott

Geez, yeah that would freak me out too! I haven't heard any other unusual noises, at least nothing unusual for this area
I really hope they aren't earthquake booms, I'm not a west coast native & i don't think I'll ever get used to quakes

This has been a subject on the Humboldt Lost Coast Outpost for some time. I live in the area and checked again and find several new 'hearings' (as opposed to sightings!). If you are in the area and hear a boom (I have not, though I know people who have), you might want to 'fill out the boom report.'

lostcoastoutpost.com...

reply to post by gwynned

Nice, maybe if they get enough responses they'll be able to pinpoint where exactly these noises are coming from. I didn't hear the one earlier today though

I can't believe nobody has mentioned that loud "booms" and flashes can be associated with seismic activity, especially around major fault lines. Some say they are precursors to an earthquake.

reply to post by highfreq


We have had a couple of earthquakes recently, the first on October 13th (4.9) and the second smaller one a couple of days ago. However, this is not unusual and these booms have been going on for months.

I can't say this is related but on October 11th, several CANADIAN fighter jets landed at our very small airport. Neither the airport director or the Coast Guard could or would give a reason for there being here.

The full blog here if anyone is interested: lostcoastoutpost.com...

Then, on October 14th, I heard a rumble and looked out my back door and just above the trees was a flotilla of 8 helicopters. Now, people will suggest this is common given the pot growing, but this is not the case. I have lived here 20 years and see helicopters circling all the time. But only ever one or two. A flotilla of 8 military helicopters is newsworthy, and like with the Canadian jets, notice was taken among the general population. No satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming. lostcoastoutpost.com...

reply to post by Astrithr


Sounds to me like someone in the area discovered and is playing around with Tannerite.

It is an explosive that can only be set off by a high powered rifle. Around here, it is even sold in firework stands.
Even just a small amount can make a really big boom. The few times I have known it was being played with (even adults play with it) I could hear it 10 miles away. I knew some friends who took some to the rifle range 10 miles from me so I was expecting it. I have even shot some myself and have an unmixed container in my closet right now.

I have seen a few kids discover it and then just keep using larger quantities to see how big of a "boom" they can make. Detonating Tannerite will not cause a fire... But it will make a really big boom.

I suspect young adults are playing with it in the area... due to the sporadic reports. Most of them lack the money flow to get as much as they want all at once. So it takes a few days to get the funds for more. Or.. they have told their friends and others are trying it. An adult would buy as much as they want and play for a few hours and be done. don't ask me how I know this.

I looked and you can find quite a few videos about it on Youtube.

Let me ask you this OP, are there any bad smells like rotten egg in your community at all? This could be hydrogen sulfide or methane gas plumes finding ignition sources and simply exploding. Hence, the smoke that was also witnessed following one of the booms, but no fire. These sound like explosions of some sort, but I highly doubt they would be man made explosions, or there source would have definitely been found by now by local authorities. They wouldn't allow this to go on this long if it were as simple as some idiots playing with explosives.

Eureka is also on the coast where most of these plumes would come from.

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW:
Colourless gas. Colourless liquid at extremely low temperatures or under very high pressure. Odour of rotten eggs at very low concentrations. Sickening sweet odour at 30-100 ppm. The ability to smell H2S can begin to dull at 50 ppm and can be completely lost. EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE GAS. Forms explosive mixtures with air over a wide concentration range. Very low ignition energy. Gas is heavier than air and may hug the ground. Distant ignition and flashback are possible. During a fire, irritating/toxic sulfur dioxide may be generated. Confined space hazard. Can accumulate in confined spaces, especially in low-lying, poorly ventilated areas, producing a fire/toxicity/explosion hazard. COMPRESSED GAS. Cylinders and closed containers may rupture violently if heated, releasing large amounts of flammable gas or may cause cylinder to rocket. May ignite in contact with some metal oxides and oxidants. VERY TOXIC. May be fatal if inhaled. EYE IRRITANT. Gas may be severely irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract. Causes lung injury-effects may be delayed. Inhalation of high concentrations may cause respiratory paralysis, irregular heartbeat, collapse and death. May cause nervous system effects. Liquefied escaping from cylinder can cause frostbite.

Source

Hydrogen sulfide is extremely flammable and has a low ignition energy. It may ignite in contact with some metal oxides such as copper or iron. The gas is heavier than air and can build up in low lying areas until there is enough that a simple ignition source will cause an explosion. That's why I ask if you have experienced any bad smells lately. Also, have there been any sudden house fires or car fires in the area, or businesses on fire. Read the fire hazard summary below and you'll see explanation of how this gas can accumulate in certain areas such as basements.

Fire Hazard Summary:
FLAMMABLE GAS. Burns with a pale blue flame. Form explosive mixtures with air over a wide range. Very low ignition energy. Ignites spontaneously at 260 deg C (500 deg F). Leaking gas will be initially colder and heavier than air, and may hug the ground and travel a considerable distance to a source of ignition and flash back to a leak. During a fire, irritating/toxic sulfur oxides (mainly sulfur dioxide) may be generated. Can accumulate in confined spaces, especially in low-lying, poorly ventilated areas, producing a fire/toxicity/explosion hazard. Compressed gas. Heat from fire can cause a rapid build-up of pressure inside cylinders, which may cause explosive rupture and a sudden release of large amounts of flammable gas or may cause cylinder to rocket.