Update at 9:45 a.m.: Scientist says meteorite likely not to blame for Southeast Portland fire

Updated at 8:30 a.m.: Expert says there are no examples of meteorites ever starting a fire.

Was that a meteorite that flew into a Southeast Portland yard Wednesday night, sparking a fire?



That's just what several eyewitnesses to the event told Portland Fire Bureau officials after something flew into the front yard at 4619 Southeast 44th Avenue at 10:25 p.m.



"We're not in the meteorite identifying business, we're in the extinguishing fires business,'' said Lt. Rich Tyler, a spokesman for the Portland Fire Bureau. "But neighbors said they saw something flying through the air, hit the yard on fire and bounce. It very well could have been a meteorite."



The grass in house's front yard was scorched in about an 8 by 6 foot wide circle, and whatever bounced, bounced into the bushes at the front of the house, scorching some plants, Tyler said.

Tyler said the cause of the fire has been attributed to "natural causes."

"The Perseid meteor shower does not usually -- and meteors in general -- do not start fires,'' said Dick Pugh, field scientist for the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory at Portland State University. "The fire usually goes out high in the atmosphere and they enter what's called 'dark flight.'"



Pugh said meteors have been in space for billions of years at 300 degrees below zero and they usually not even warm after they hit the ground when they are then called meteorites.



"There is a greater danger in getting frostbitten than being burned," Pugh explained. "There are not examples of a meteorite starting a fire."



Pugh said he gets about 2 calls a day from people who think they've found meteorites. They send them in, he said, "and I tell them they don't."

The Perseid meteor shower, a yearly event that draws thousands to watch the night sky for "shooting stars," peaked Wednesday night and Thursday morning.



The Oregonian/OregonLive's Noelle Crombie is at the scene Thursday morning and will report back soon. Check back for updates.







-- Stuart Tomlinson

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