On Thursday night, some people in the Las Vegas valley witnessed a strange spectacle of lights in the northwest direction. They captured the phenomenon on video (see below) and wondered what it could be. Was it a UFO? A military exercise? A plane landing?
The lights looked like parachute flares, which are used to illuminate an area or mark a position. They are often deployed by the military for training or combat purposes. However, none of the local authorities confirmed any activity that would explain the flares.
A spokesperson for Nellis Air Force Base said they did not conduct any training over the valley that night. A spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport also said they were not aware of any flights that would cause such lights. Creech Air Force Base did not respond to requests for comment.
One of the witnesses, Bill (who asked not to use his last name), lives near West Horizon Parkway and Stephanie Street in the southeast valley. He said he saw the lights at about 9 p.m. and started recording them. He estimated that they were over the Strip and downtown Las Vegas.
“I’ve seen tourist helicopters flying around the Strip before, but this was so much bigger and brighter,” he said. “At the end there, it looks like a plane might be coming in to land at the airport.
“It was weird. The lights hung out for about five minutes or so, and then they were gone.”
