BANGOR, Maine — A city official driving home with his daughter Thursday night saw strange orange-colored balls of light in the night sky over Waterville and called the Bangor Daily News to find out what it was.
Shawn Yardley, director of the city’s Department of Health and Community Services, described what the two saw as “bright orange dots at cloud level.”
“They looked like Christmas lights, but they were orange,” he said Friday, still looking for answers to what he witnessed. “They took up about a quarter-mile of sky and they stayed in place. It wasn’t fireworks, because they stayed in place.”
Yardley was on Interstate 95 near Waterville and said the fire-colored orbs could be seen on the Oakland side of the highway.
“People were pulling off the road to look at them,” he said. “If my daughter hadn’t been there to witness the same thing, I would not have called. I’ve never reported anything like this.”
Police and fire officials in Waterville, Winslow and Oakland, as well as the Maine State Police, said they took no reports of balls of light in the night sky, and the National Weather Service reported no unusual weather that could account for the lights.
“A string of lights [in the sky] is a very common UFO report,” Alan Davenport, director of the University of Maine’s Jordan Planetarium, said Friday.
Some prior UFO reports have proved to be aircraft flying away, he said. They appear to be stationary because they are so far away.
“That is what their taillights would look like,” Davenport said.
Yardley’s wife, Rita, asked him why he didn’t take a picture of the balls of light with his cellphone, and he said he couldn’t because “I was on the phone.”
The National UFO Reporting Center, which has nine postings on its website from Maine for October, has taken reports of orange “fireballs” from all over the world. There were no postings on the website for Thursday night.
There also are a couple of YouTube videos posted of people filming orange lights in the sky.
Yardley said he’s not sure what he and his daughter saw, but he did expect others in the area to file reports.
“I got up this morning and assumed it would be in the newspaper and on TV,” he said.
Pics or it didn’t happen.
have i got a deal for you…
agreed–in this date of cell phones, you’re going to tel me NO ONE could capture it with cellphone pics?
Yardley’s wife, Rita, asked him why he didn’t take a picture of the balls of light with his cellphone, and he said he couldn’t because “I was on the phone.”
Has he never heard of calling someone back? If I see something that strange in the sky I’m going to inform the other person I have to do something more important and will get back to them.
At night, with a cell phone, I doubt that a viable picture would have come out. Probably just a low flying satellite with the sun shining on it. Could glow orange with all the dust and debris floating around the satellite.
He could have shot a video and todays cell phones record very well, even at night.
you are right, or any number of the so called they were pulling over to look at them, everyone has a dam camera and video cam these days, lets see the proof.
I carry my digital camera with me at all times. I don’t walk out the door without it for the above reason. If I’m going to make such an absurd claim I want video of at least something.
Praytell, which part of Yardley’s statements did you find “absurd”?
I don’t have a video cam and my camera is not in the car.
No cell phone, no video camera. Don’t need either of these.
There is an airport in Waterville…….!!!
My husband called me to tell me about this!! He was driving through and saw the same thing!! “people were pulling off the road to look at them” he was one of those people! Seriously, people, my husband would not make something like this up… he has no reason WHATSOEVER to… I posted a status last night on facebook (before this article came out) asking if anyone knew anything about it…
Ask your husband if it looked like this: http://www.ufoencounterslive.com/ufonews_cambridgeshire_sighting.htm
That’s the closest thing I could find for a “string of orange lights” and is reported to be a UFO sighting in the UK
EDIT: Nevermind, I knew there was a reasonable explanation: http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf See comments below
What a mystery! What could they possibly be, other than alien visitors from Antares??!
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4h2VUJbbK4en0AGwi4D4DA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
Might be from Pleiades. (Subaru in Japanese.)
Rita, asked him why he didn’t take a picture of the balls of light with
his cellphone, and he said he couldn’t because “I was on the phone.” HELLO… TELL HIM TO HANG UP THE PHONE, YOUR A GOOD PAIR OF WHAT i DUNNO?
Rita, asked him why he didn’t take a picture of the balls of light with
his cellphone, and he said he couldn’t because “I was on the phone.” HELLO… TELL HIM TO HANG UP THE PHONE, YOUR A GOOD PAIR OF WHAT i DUNNO?
I believe him., Most people don’t say anything when they see so called UFO’s for one reason.. see comments below.
Mr Yardley, daughter … don’t ever, ever, let them tell you or try to convince you that what you saw was other than what you know you saw. They will try… to make you question yourselves… hang on to your truth. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQoRXhS7vlU&feature=related
Yardley. Figures. He sees money when it isn’t there also.
i believe in UFO s i have never seen one though
I bet you do.
anything is possible . i have never seen them but
College students place flares on a light weight plate, then attach a closed dry cleaners bag above the plate. Light flare, hold plastic bag up until heat within lifts the whole deal into the sky. Old trick…called UFOs.
Japanese lanterns, weather balloons, Venus, or swamp gas. Don’t tell too many people about this. They aren’t ready yet.
Let my kid take the UFO out for a spin and this is the type of stunt she pulls. On top of that, the ion-pulse drive was making a funny noise when I started it up this morning.
Sorry everyone. I told her to keep it to inter-stellar travel, not local. Shes SO grounded….
Inside sources tell me the the aliens were homeless and are looking to relocate to Bangor for the benefits.
Yardley, would know all about that.
If its not magic money fountains (a.ka. taxpayers) to help layabouts, its Flying “Christmas lights”.
The City needs to can this clown!
Please share with those of us who’ve worked with Yardley for decades 1)Why you’d can him and 2) Why you think he’s a clown?
Your insights will be most insightful.
1) You want a public official talking about such things? Next thing he’s gonna say is he was taken up into a space ship and probed by little green men.
2) This man’s job is to take from those who work and give to those who are lazy and have no desire to ever better themselves. In my eyes, this man is nothing but, a wellfare pusher.
He should chose his words more carefully in the future being in such a position.
All he did was call the newspaper to ask whether anybody knew what the lights were. There is no indication he said he saw an alien spacecraft.
Second, his job is to ensure that those in need don’t end up homeless and starving.
Some questions are better unasked.
In all seriousness check out some of the comments further down. People have figured out what this was and it wasn’t a UFO.
There really has to be a logical explanation for this. One theory going around is that this was the Romulans preparing to wipe out the Klingons from Uranus.
remember that the last day is dec 21 , i think its going to be an invasion from outer space , please be ready to play indian love call by slim whitman.
That’s something, isn’t it?! I don’t even get to see my 40th birthday on the 23rd.
Aliens tasked with picking up LePage and bringing him back to the planet he come from, then they realized why they dropped him off to begin with and decided to scrap the idea and move on to the next task.
And… since when does a planes tail lights have lights spanning a quarter mile of sky? Seriously folks… a plane? Airport lights? Fear of the unknown will make some doubt because it is not within their comfort zone and the reality is difficult for most to wrap their heads around. Ignorance is bliss… me…. I say… eeeeh ha! ET phoned home and my ride is here to pick me up! :)
Eyewitness accounts are woefully inaccurate in many cases. Add that to the fact the sky has no reference points to gauge size and distance, and you can forget about making any kind of accurate estimate of any object’s size if you don’t know what you’re looking at. After all, a rising or setting moon appears huge on the horizon but appears much smaller directly overhead. Yet, the moon’s size has not changed.
Illegal Aliens trying to vote again…….Freaking green party
Orange Party.
I saw the exact same thing that night while I was out walking my unicorn.
Late Trick or Treaters…
Hey. Everyone get a grip. You’re obsessing with UFOs, the man… a civic servant, his daughter. I can guaranty this was a prank as my prior post describes. I know. I did this forty years ago, but never thought of a fire hazard.
Get a grip? Get real. You guarantee? A prank? Light plate? Dry cleaner bag? Flares? What else did you do for fun and good ole’ hee, hee, hah, hah? Seriously? How far did it travel? Were you able to control it’s movements? Or stop it suspended in mid air? Did it span a quarter mile of sky? That’s silly. :)
Real as can be, bud. You sound like a smart guy… I guarantee if you think really hard you can build one. Have an adult help you with the matches.
Sounds like you cannot answer any of the questions I asked. I would not be so inclined to waste my time with the primitive technology such as you describe you created. I would be inclined to believe that it burned up before even leaving the ground. Some elevators just don’t travel very far. I mean… really… think about it. A flare… A very thin plastic dry cleaner bag. I mean really. :)
Have you ever seen a hot air balloon? That’s the principal. The heat fr om the flare, large candle, can of Sterno inflates the lightweight plastic bag, and hot air does tend to rise. You have to do this in calm winds, away from trees of course. These rise hundreds of feet in the air,uncontrolled by anything but air current. It is difficult to guage size and features at night and when the balloon is several hundred feet in the air, so people tend to think they are larger than they are, and reason that it has to be large because it is way up in the sky. Plus, the glow from the source of heat…especially the flare… is eerie and people are confused. Having explained that, a reasonable person would/ should never attempt this for safety reasons. That’s where the college students come in. They’d do it in a blink. But if one wants to believe in ufos, religion, swamp gas or Thor’s revenge… have at it!
Paraffin-soaked cotton is a lot better than sterno. Tissue paper, a glue stick, and thin bamboo strip. They take about 20 minutes each to make.
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
There you go! I hope we haven’t started an epidemic of arson… Maybe a bit of control by fishing line. rod and reel. UFOs exist!
See below. Also see picture post below.
I wrote a detailed description of the device a while ago, but Discus was down for repairs?? Suffice… just imagine a small hot air balloon. And as you posted earlier, it is difficult to detetmine size and distance in a dark sky. No controls, no wind. No logical reason to do this for safety ressons. Oh, I had a super college education and had a ball while there notwithstanding ufo experiments! Have a nice day and watch for my older post.
They don’t burn up. In cold weather they ascend very quickly. If you release them about 30-60 seconds apart, you get the characteristic “chain of lights” pattern that people report seeing.
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GCCVUMHFEuS40AHA2YGYCA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
The ones that I saw were not ascending at all, they were huge and were staying still! Like I said it was in the middle of a potato field in Northern Maine, and there wasn’t anyone in the field! They were not lanterns, they were really really big! There were at 6 to 8 really big bright round glowing balls! Not a lantern, not a hot air balloon!
Well… I think someone would be behind a show like that one. Dunno. But in The County it has to be a bona fide event.
It’s pretty easy. Takes about 20 minutes to build out of tissue paper, bamboo strips, and paraffin.
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
I wonder if they saw those sky lanterns that have little cans of sterno that you light and they float through the sky until they burn out. They are sold at fireworks stores. The first time I saw them I was bewildered.
That is exactly what they were, and shall continue to be.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4h2VUJbbK4en0AGwi4D4DA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
I believe there is all kinds of intelligent life out there in this vast universe. But the logistics of interstellar space travel seem impossible. If beings have figured out how to do it the least they could do is stop in and say hello.
If they were that smart then they would be smart enough to not bother with this mud ball full of crazies
Crazies yes…. Mudball? no!
Universe might as well be infinite and thus it is impossible for life not to exist elsewhere.
But, as archer said, they probably wouldnt bother. If they can travel billions of miles in an effective way, they’d have no use for earthlings.
Of course many people would argue that the atomic bomb caught their eyes. Personally, I don’t know. But I know they are out there, somewhere. They have to be. Its science (and math)!
Don’t get too personal, DD
There is very little evidence here in this comment thread. ;)
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
Shawn is a man of his word – a very good guy. He would not fabricate something like this – it’s not his style. He merely stated that he and his daughter saw unusual lights and expected to see similar reports.
http://www.skylanterns.net/Sky-Lanterns-Photos.asp# I would almost bet this is what they saw.
Yup. Here’s my girlfriend and I launching some in Bangor. We’ve done this a few times, and shall again.
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
Swamp land for sale
I am in Northern Maine, and I saw the same thing a few nights ago! I am not saying that it was a UFO, I don’t really believe in them. All I know is that I was driving with my daughter, and there were big bright orange lights just above a potato field. I drive by the same spot everyday, and I have never seen anything like it.
PICS, PICS PICS, VIDEO VIDEO, where is it.
I didn’t take a pic, but I should have. I didn’t know what I was looking at! I stopped and looked at it for a minute, then I drove a little further and it was gone. As I said before, I don’t really believe in UFO’s, so I am not claiming to have seen one. I do know that it was not a lantern! The lights were huge! I have no reason to lie about any of this!
Here you go.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4h2VUJbbK4en0AGwi4D4DA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
You don’t believe in unidentified flying objects? I see UFO’s all the time.
What about 2 big orange balloons on a long string ,with helium in them seeing that it was the day after Halloween.,
You don’t need a string. They tend to stay in formation. I’ve made them several times out of tissue paper, glue stick, thin bamboo strips, and a small bit of paraffin-soaked cotton fabric.
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
We tried them a while back and they don’t stay in a stationary position. They keep moving till they go out.
And so it begins….
Just chinese sky lanterns. They’re getting more and more common over here in the states.
I’ve made them since I was a kid, so… 30 years or so.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Bx-VUMO_OqKW0QH14IHgCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
more chinese over here
I have known Shawn Yardley for 40 years, and if he said he saw something in the sky he did.
Not off topic since this is similar but I took my daughter to a concert this last summer at the waterfront (Big Time Rush) and right at the end of the concert there was this flying… thing… looked like a small rocket ship or something that came out from behind the stage and over the audience. It had red blinking lights…I thought it would burst open with confetti or streamers…I mean it was literally at the very end of the concert so I thought it was their “finale” or something. It continued over us and my friend and I looked at each other like “what the h3ll?” It was so weird…it kept flying on and looked like it ended up around or near where the airport would be. Did anyone else that went to that concert see it? The crowd was just cheering and didn’t seem to notice it the way we did but we KNOW we saw it. Can anyone explain this? It kind of freaked me out…I was almost thinking it was a missle of some sort. ???
Sky lanterns seems to be the most likely explanation. The lights could also have been remnants of a meteor.
But why does the story not answer the most basic question: When? “Night” could mean anything from sunset to sunrise.
I bet meteors in the night sky…they break up and burn in the atmosphere … If it is the aliens I hope the take all the politicians to there leaders so we can get new ones….Is that wishing upon a falling star?
Maybe we could set off more lanterns to attract aliens, then offer them our leaders. I can’t think of one I would like to keep.
Huh. I thought I saw something like that on I95 near Auburn the same Thursday night. I just assumed it was a plane taking off or something because they seemed low and I know there are a few air strips in the area.
“That is what their taillights would look like,” Davenport said…..Never seen a plane with “Tailights” he he
Pretty funny statement, if you think about it. “What they would look like”.
It’s like… what a monkey with a hatchback would look like, only different.
people usually do not report this type of thing because of the fear of ridicule. Jimmy Carter was not. Reagan knew something but would not come out and say it.Many police officers in the southwest have reported the same thing.Glad i never saw anything like it,then i would be torn whether or not to tell about it.Nothing to see here folks,move along.
I’m not one for believing in this stuff but check out that site in the above article. There are lots of sightings of these orange orbs. I actually saw some myself last summer near Millinocket. I think most people know what a plane looks like and they don’t fit the description of a plane…..Just sayin…
**
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Bx-VUMO_OqKW0QH14IHgCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
Wow get a hold of yourselves people. This is what he saw: http://imgur.com/a/Ksobf
It’s a man-made lantern, not a UFO. Bangor Daily is shamelessly feeding paranormal hysteria to gain readers. There needs to be less grocery aisle rag material. Unfortunately journalism is dying.
Oh come on, that’s a bit harsh. Many people have never seen fire lanterns before, and it’s fun to think about the unknown, especially for kids.
They’re tons of fun to make and launch. If you release several 30-60 seconds apart, you get an amazing string-of-lights pattern. They tend to stay roughly in formation while they drift and ascend
I concur. When’s the next story about a psychic supposed to run, anyway?
Mr yrdley is not crazy My daughter and I saw the same thing as well as some workers at the wendys in waterville maine ask them It was Nov 1 2012 7:20 pm I was just leaving the drive thru at a wendy’s fast food restaurant in waterville maine when the teller at the window was looking up saying what is that I could not see what she was looking at so I pulled forward and got out of my jeep and looked toward the sky . I was shocked and amazed to what I was looking at 20 or more glowing orbs or objects that looked like bright stars flying around the sky zig zagging and then just floating up all together disappearing into the cloudy sky above My daughter whom is 8 was like Daddy the aliens are here…I was trying to get pics but cell phone could not zoom cheap phone so I was calling home when this was going on explaining to family what we were seeing this is no joke ……something is out there
Yes, something is out there.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire+lanterns&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Bx-VUMO_OqKW0QH14IHgCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=1137
This is really something, years ago me and my wife were headed to Portland to the airport for a 6 am flight. We saw something very similiar it was about 2:00 am in the morning. We didn’t report it but we did tell our friends who thought we were a little crazy and it was in the same area.
I saw something like this on Tuesday morning around 1 a.m. and it shot through the clouds at a fast pace and was bright orange, it was near the airport though… At first I thought it was a shooting star because of the speed… maybe not…
UfOs DO exist. And what was seen by many people were UFOs.
As UFO is simply an acronym, for Unknown Flying Object, many people have seen UFOs, but probably no one that was controlled by a being of a difference race, or of a human different time.
Now, the differences lie in the type of UFO that is seen: some UFOs are basically unexplainable, but most have some explananton, whether from the banal to the secrets of goverment, or the magic of physics or maths.
I’ve seen two, as a young lad. Scared me, and thinking back, they were unexplainable.
My son and I saw something so similar one night in the sky, at cloud level as we were pulling into the WERU parking lot. Unforgettable orange orb. Very interesting.
I for one do believe UFOs exist. Literally.
Unidentified… Flying… Objects…
when i was in Bangor this summer saw the same thing with many people at the hotel we stayed at. the light remained in the same place for a long time. there was about 5 of them. they were orange. But they were chinese sky lanterns!!!!!
if you never saw them. And it was the first time for me. you’ll say and think holy cow ufo’s…. But they were not….
One of my coworkers went to visit her daughter in the Portland area a few months ago and her son in law had just videoed almost the idential described event.
It`s my bet that a lot of people that make fun at what he saw believe that there is a invisible man in the sky.
Sounds like he is auditioning for a reboot of the X-Files.
Ha ha ha. Very good Shawn you woke us up.
Pumpkins departing for their home planet after Halloween.
I really do not appreciate this comment. My father’s 25+ years of sobriety are something that I and my family are extremely proud of. Making jest at the absurdity of the situation is acceptable, but to bring in something that is so personal is just inappropriate and unwarranted.
someone else has stepped forward to concur what your father saw,stay turned
fannycradock’s comment is a blatant personal attack that has NO place in this forum. As a regular commentor her I am embarrassed by this this kind of comment and someone owes you and your Dad an apology big time.
Thank you for commenting on your Dad’s behalf. You should be very proud of him. Few people understand how difficult this particular demon is to conquer and how a person struggles just about every day of their life after getting that under control. Your Dad no doubt did this as much for his family as he did for himself and you all have every right to very, very, proud of him.
None of you knows me, but tell I said congrats for all he has accomplished. There are those of us who do care.
Maybe you could adopt one.
Dont they know the meth clinics are only open during the day?
Thank you Shawn for reporting this. We all need to do this more often, as if it is out of the ordinary than it could be detrimental to us all. The first mistake is not to report it…….Yes, we have a few crazies that must be overlooked for the greater benefit. Some folks that post need to, as they are extremely lonely and this is their only avenue to vent. Again, thanks to you and your daughter.
Rita, asked him why he didn’t take a picture of the balls of light with
his cellphone, and he said he couldn’t because “I was on the phone.” HELLO.. get off the phone!! I believe him !
ignorance is bliss you must feel it now that you comment was just so brilliant..NOT
And, he would call the Bangor Daily News … why?
Sun dog, or parhelion. The National UFO Reporting Center ought to know this. Not sure why this article makes it seem like it’s a big mystery.
Another City of Bangor employee visionary.
You look so serious Shawn. Not at all like you were 30 years ago. Me neither.
Still no gray hair! Me lots of gray… hair that is! Still cheerful though.
I think it was the Horseless Headman or Carrottcakeman. Give them a GMO food product and they’ll be fine.
M.I.B.?
Did he eat some of those brownies too ?
Yardely had just freed himself from the Government boxcar that he was handcuffed inside. It was full of thousands of rounds of hollow point bullets just imported from Kenya . It also contained a map to Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.
Are you sure you where not down to zumba classes in southern Maine.
Fannycrack: you must be a guy with a lot of forgiveness to beg for. Your words will haunt you forever. Good luck.
I see UFOs flying around my back yard every year. Then I get the bird book down and flip through it for a while, and suddenly they’re not unidentified any more.
It must have been in the mid 60’s ; When my brother and I were young children ( that was many years ago,) we, along with our Dad saw lights in the sky. Lights of many colors, making a ring in the sky. I remember there being other cars pulled over along side of the road. There must have been a dozen or more. It was amazing and hard to believe, but there it was !
Since that day, I have always known that there is other life out there. No one will ever convince me that “it must have been”….. What ever. You will never believe it until you see it and maybe if you are in the right place at the right time…. You may find yourself mesmerized, unable to look away from the lights in the sky. This is a true story and it was way before I ever drank or did drugs LOL …. it really happened! I can laugh now but at the time I was freaked out !
Skylanterns. Very common sight nowadays. They can look pretty funky from the ground.
you tube this…..
Orange UFO UK 2011
That will explain it all…… look at the video from far then a close up….
“That is what their taillights would look like,” Davenport said.
Uh, airplanes DON’T HAVE TAILLIGHTS. They have flashing beacons and strobes–no orange.
As a teenager back in the 60’s, I saw a UFO on North Raymond Road over looking Upper Range Pond in Poland about five miles from Dry Mills. I had walked from my parent’s cottage at night and that was back when you could still see Upper Range Pond from the road. Now the trees have grown up you can’t see the pond anymore from the road. I must have watched it for five minutes and what I saw did not conform to any type of aircraft lights as the single light seemed to be moving slowly in a random fashion and changed color all the while. Then it got real bright and seemed to take off at at 45 degree angle upwards and got real dim and it was gone.
bath salts?
“i was on the phone” = i was texting while driving
Maybe its ET