Meteor Bursts Near Kamloops

On the night of Sunday, October 20, 1929, at approximately 8:33 PM, a significant atmospheric event occurred in the Kamloops district of British Columbia. Witnesses reported a brilliant light, loud noises, and electrical disturbances, which caused widespread alarm among the local population. Many residents initially suspected an explosion at an oil tank, leading to numerous inquiries at provincial police headquarters. The phenomenon was characterized by a blue light streaking downwards, followed by an explosion described as similar to a detonating oil tank, accompanied by a rushing sound. The event was reported across a wide area, including Rosehill, Campbell Range, Chase, Heffley Creek, and North Kamloops. Observers noted that the object appeared to descend slowly, with one witness comparing it to an electric lamp of 60 candlepower. There were reports of unusual temperature increases, with some residents opening windows and allowing furnaces to die down. Several motorists, including A. M. Tyrrell, George Bowers, Tom Clark, and Arthur and Reginald Burton, stopped their vehicles, fearing they were on fire. The consensus among the reports, as documented by the Penticton Herald on October 24, 1929, is that a large meteor disintegrated near the surface of the earth south of the city.