El Cajun triangle UFO. Witness-posted image at FlickR.com.
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Do UFOs appear over El Cajon, California, every Fourth of July? Some witnesses are saying "yes." Two reports of this year's lights are described by witnesses from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.
This 2005 report from the National UFO Reporting Center claims that witnesses then were seeing them for the third year in a row.
One witness posted a photograph of the lights at the Flickr.com web site as they formed a triangle. The only description here was, "Red lights in the sky of La Mesa/El Cajon, CA during the evening of July 4, 2009. I am unsure what these lights were. I think there were around 4-5 red lights. "
One comment left at the web page from TinaM62: "I saw those two but I couldnt get a clear picture! There were four redlights and there was a group of at least 25 people watching them move across the sky!"
El Cajon is a city in San Diego County, population 94,869. The Spanish translation of El Cajon is "the drawer," as the town is surrounded by mountains as a nestled valley. The town holds the nickname of "The Big Box."
Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If MUFON investigates and reports back on any of these cases, I will update this page.
The following reports and their headlines are unedited. You can read my selected cases by type of UFO report at the UFO Traffic Report index page.
Photo: Downtown El Cajon arch. City of El Cajon photo.
This California group was watching the Spring Valley fireworks when one of them noticed "some red lights hovering over El Cajon." They noticed "three lights in a roughly triangular formation hovering" over the city. A fourth light seemed to be pacing these lights.
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CA, July 4, 2009 - 3 red lights over El Cajon, in triangular formation My wife, parents and I were in the back yard to watch the Spring Valley fireworks at 9pm. Around 8:45 my mother said that she saw some red lights hovering over El Cajon. The rest of us looked and saw 3 lights in a roughly triangular formation hovering high over El Cajon. They began to drift slowly south-eastward. I went inside and grabbed a pair of binoculars to look more closely at the lights but they didn't look much clearer though they were of an elongated triangular shape which I've seen before. A fourth light appeared to the east and began to pace the 3 lights, and on top of a nearby hill (Dictionary Hill) we saw a red flaring light on the top that almost seemed to be signaling the lights. Around 9pm, when the fireworks were to start, the triangular lights formed a line, and the middle light faded quickly away. I predicted that the lights would probably be gone by the end of the fireworks display, and sure enough, by 9:15, they were gone. I did a search online this morning, and saw that such red lights have been sighted over El Cajon on the 4th of July now every year since at least 2003. I have witnessed 2 other UFO phenomena in or above El Cajon in the last 15 years, just for the record. |
This second group in El Cajon, was at a small church on a hill when they noticed "three really bright red 'dots' in the sky." The lights were flickering, "simply getting brighter and dimmer and brighter and dimmer." One of the witnesses thought they saw the object "drop something dark."
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CA, July 4, 2009 - thee flashing red dots stayed formed triangle and stayed in sky for over an hour; 4th joined eventually Probably not alien life, but definitely and unidentified flying object. I live in El Cajon, the east county part of San Diego. Last night was the 4th of July, so around 8:30 I went to this tiny church on a hill, it's where my friends and I go to just sit around basically, and there's a great view of San Diego from the spot. So we were up there waiting for fireworks and at about eight forty five one of us noticed three really bright red "dots" in the sky. They were flickering, not like a plane would but not like stars either, simply getting brighter and dimmer and brighter and dimmer. They simply sat in the sky for a minute or two, then started slowly moving, went directly over our heads, and eventually formed a very distinct triangle in front of us. Then after about fifteen minutes they seemed to disperse from each other again and headed in a different direction. They moved slowly, about the speed they would go if they were drifting with wind currents, but they were moving with purpose. They moved away from us and got dimmer but were definitely still there. I'd guess that there was probably a light on one side of the object, and it rotated the light away from us making it seem duller. Anyway, as they moved away, a fourth red object rose into our sights (it was blocked by the church until that point), and this one was as bright as the other three had originally been which makes me think that it had the light facing towards us? A few of my friends said that they saw one of the objects "drop" something dark, but I didn't see this.. A few also said that it looked like there was something "behind" the red lights, but I wear contacts which hinders my ability to pick out things like that. I ended up going home about when the 4th light came, which was probably around 9:15. I googled the red lights, and it seems like people have seen something very similar to them on the 4th of July in 2007 and 2008. So maybe they are some kind of government aircraft out there to regulate fireworks? I really don't know, I just know that these were not any kind of planes or flying object I had ever seen before. |
Comments
I also saw the same red "lights" in El Cajon on July 4th-2009 around 8:30 pm. I have been on the internet all day trying to find out what they were. Why hasn't the news picked this up and solved the mystery for us?
These are military flares. A lot of times military bases have extras on hand and will use them to illuminate normally dark areas where people will go to watch the display, allowing them to navigate terrain or even other people. They basically act as really bright overhead lights. The typical characteristics are to be semi-circular, the illuminated half toward the ground, hovering for quite a while (possibly moving due to winds), and then seeming to flash off into the distance in the complete opposite direction from the viewer. This last characterisitic is actually due to the flares burning out very quickly. The illuminated area does not get dimmer, it just gets smaller. This gives the impression that the lights are moving away at a rapid speed. I have mistaken flares for UFOs on several occasions having been in the military and seeing them over training sites out in the distance. They are definitely unlike anything most people have ever seen.
Lin: Thanks for writing. Please be sure to report your sighting at mufon.com. It's easy. It's quick. And it helps the larger research body to have multiple witnesses. This case seems to be an annual sighting at the same location on the same date; which increases the human variables. More witnesses will help MUFON resolve the case.
I live SE of El Cajon and saw only one red light high in the sky at about 45-50'. Although the lower lights would have been blocked by houses. It was at 9:05pm and very far away. I grabbed my Meade telescope and the light was 100% red, not Mars. It was not an airplane as it didn't blink and moved so slowly I didn't think it was moving at all. But after studying it I could tell it did move from S to N about the speed the moon moves. The closest thing it could have been is a flare, but it would have had to have been miles up and very stationary. It really looked like a red satellite about the brightness of Ceres but 100% red???
My husband and I, along with our two best friends, too, saw the lights from the top of San Carlos Street in Spring Valley. Definitely unidentified flying objects. Strangest thing we ever saw.
I saw them just before 9:00pm along with my mother-in-law. We checked them out with binoculars, and the light looked very "electronic" in nature...not like a flame or fire source. These weren't your typical airplane lights though...no blinking...no alternating colored lights...very strange. I've lived in El Cajon since 2003, and this is my first time sighting them.
A group of us in La Mesa also saw same lights in direction of El Cajon. Looked like two pulsating red and one green in large stationary formation (about 10 minutes) at 8:30 - then left to observe fireworks so did not see them leave.
Saw the same thing. About 12 of us watched them move slowly toward us, then right when they past over head, they stopped and hovered in one spot in the sky for about 15 min. and then one by one started to dimmed and then flickered out "weird!!!!!"
We saw the same set of lights one our way home on the 4th. They initially appeared to be planes following the same landing route as most planes over Mt. Helix. However the non-blinking lights and silence as they approached indicated otherwise. They were as they approached from the west, they were in a straight line and then appeared to have three form a triangle while the fourth continued on its path. While the first reaction is to think they were UFOs, it seems to be a distinct possibility they could have been flares attached to weather balloons as they all seemed to evacuate / vanish at approximately the same time. Flares tied to weather balloons could have given off the same characteristics and been a common recent hoax. I tend to think this moreso since we didn't witness any abrupt or erratic movements of the lights. Rather they hovered and ultimately disappeared. Did anyone see otherwise?
This sounds like a good sighting; multiple witnesses reporting the same phenomenon from different vantage points is rare... but the purpose behind it still seems to be to attract attention.
Could they have been flares tied to a balloon?
w w w.azfamily.com/news/homepagetopstory/stories/Phoenix_local_news_042108_new-lights-sightings.895be60f.html
hey travis and erin here's an article about the red lights we saw in the sky
Watching the Spring Valley fireworks with a group of about 20 strangers, under the freeway overpass, we all witnessed the odd trio of red lights & the 4th light off to the side also. I have actually seen 1 of these red lights on one other occasion. From my front yard on Harbinson Ave. in La Mesa on New Years Eve 2008-2009 I saw 1 red light identical to these 4. I woke my husband up to get a witness. He was not impressed & went back to bed. I lost sleep over it, & haven't forgotten about it. It was just at midnight & stayed stationary in the sky for about 15 minutes & appeared to be over El Cajon, or towards the Laguna Mtns. (as it was not possible to judge distance). I want an explanation. Think probably practical joke.
Working the radar facility over El Cajon, got a call from Gillespie tower reporting and asking about the 4 red lights at about 8:45. I assumed he was goofy, and kept working my planes. All of a sudden a Hawaiian Airlines pilot started asking "who's this in front of me, at my altitude"? I saw nothing on the Radar, and as it is restricted (Class B) airspace, nobody else was supposed to be in there. I turned him away and he said the lights "moved" northbound...
That is crazy!! Thanks for this input really helps to verify that what we all saw on all that night was something yet to be explained...
Tonight, July 7th, my sister and I were walking out of bible study and saw a single red light in the sky. We stood by our cars talking before we took off and noticed the light was moving VERY slowly across the sky. Several helicopters and planes went over, but this was farther away and moving 1/10th the speed. It looked like a really large, really bright red pulsing star. So I'm glancing at it, and noticed a rapid course correction, completely defying the law of physics. We started to talk about it with unease. My sister called her husband at home over in La Mesa, and asked him to walk outside and look in the sky. He saw it but had no idea what it could be, and he used to be in the navy. We watched it creep across the sky, hover in one spot for a few minutes, creep some more, and then after about a total of 15 minutes, it began to flicker, turned silver, and literally disappeared in front of our eyes. I could not believe what I saw. ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS AROUND 9:30 OVER EL CAJON, CA?
Why all the UFO sightings on the 4th of July? I know why, I watch the skies almost every night, at lease for a few minutes to hours. Except on bad weather days. I'm humored by all the reports that are coming in. I figured this would happen. Fire works helped bring everyone's eyes to the sky. UFOs are more common than we are lead to believe. So People just need to look at the skies as often and they will see UFOs. I live in Salt Lake City. After a few months of observation, I pretty much know the time of night they are usually around. Star like ones are common(Orange colored). If they stop and disappear, keep watching that area. Later they will light up as they take off again! Get you a good pair of 10 x 50 binoculars with 376 or better field of (vision) view. A few hours every night and MUFON will ask you to stop reporting, even with or without pictures.
I googled red lights in the sky and found that my city El Cajon had a website that listed every sighting throught San Diego county for the last 5-10 years. I was suprised how often and regular these sightings happen. It seemed as if reaccuring sigtings happen on New Years Eve and Fourth of July... WILD!!
Comment on Tammy's post about Tuesday night July 7th in El Cajon-
Yes I saw the same thing too on the 7th, I missed the "show" on the 4th. I went out to take my trash out about 9:35 PM. Since I am a star observer, looked up and there in the west towards San Diego came the bright red, slightly pulsing whatever slowly moving but at times pausing heading east. I observed it for at least 20-25 mins I think before as you mentioned it just disappeared. I contacted El Cajon PD but the dispatcher I spoke with knew nothing of it and said nobody else had called?
My wife, Daughter, Mother-In-Law, Best Friend and his family also saw them. We saw 1 go right over my house. I live in south west El Cajon by Chase. The light above my house made no sound and was about 500 feet above the house. we saw a total of 4. They moved to a position south to south east of us and then stopped. Then at about 8:45pm one of them blinked rapidly and disappeared. It was not a flare. They looked more like a red light on a small plane. But we have a bunch of small planes flying that high over our house all the time and you can hear them. Not to mention they don't hover.
About 30 family and friends watched those 4 bright red lights directly over our Granite Hills home in El Cajon. these were not flares or planes. They all moved east in a formation. They were gone after the El Cajon fireworks show ended. the ufos were in sight for over 30 minutes.
We saw these lights on NYE 2010 when we went out to bang pots and pans. We saw the same little red lighjts in the sky, travelling slowly. When we saw them, there were only three in a line, fairly cose together. We went in for a few minutes, and when we came back out, we only saw two. Watched for another 5 minutes or so and the other two disappeared as well as we watched them sort of fizzle out. So....not just a July 4th occurrence.
The exact same thing happend over El Cajon right after Midnight New Years 2010. My entire apartment complex saw these lights for about 10 minutes as they went out one by one. They appeared to gain elevation and moved slowly south while maintaining a triangular orientation.
Agreed. These lights made their appearance again in the El Cajon area on 12-31-09. They all finally faded around 12:15 am New Years Day.
This is the weirdest thing! I went outside (in El Cajon) tonight on the turn of 2009 to 2010 to listen to the festivities, and when I looked up I saw these lights in the sky. They are red, about the size of stars, and there were 3 in a triangle shape. I thought I was imagining it so I got my brother and he saw them, as well as our neighbor and her 2 sons. The lights got closer together very slowly. They couldn't have been planes, and seemed to high to be helicopters. Eventually one of them "broke off"... the southmost one... and took off through the sky to the south. The other two were there for a few more minutes, I went inside and didn't see if they just disappeared or took off too. This is the strangest, most unexplainable thing I've ever seen.
12/31/09 - 1/1/10 First red light spotted over El Cajon CA at approx 11:45 pm on 12/31/09, moved in a south direction, flickered out near Orion's Belt. Aprox 11:49pm 3 red lights spotted moving in south direction. Flickered out aprox 15 mins from first sighting. Flickered out near Orion's Belt.
I seen this Triangle of three red lights on New Years 2010, just after Midnight. With Very high power binoculars I could still see the 3 red lights even after they faded to the naked eye.
wow I saw the bright red lights over El Cajon tonight NYE2010. I watched them for over 15 minutes. It was a triangle with lights on each end. If it is a prank it is a good one cause they didnt move at all. Kind of cool seeing that. Happy New Year El Cajon!
My wife and a few of my children woke me up at midnight, 2009/2010 to show me three red dots in a triangular shape fading in and out in southern sky in the direction of El Cajon. We watched them for about 15 minutes. We are in Santee.
My boyfriend and I saw three lights in a triangle formation over la mesa , ca they stayed for a while and then one went west, and then the eastern one disappeared then he third one left. they were red and i told him we just saw a UFO - this is the first one I have seen in 22 years - none looked like this one!!!
YUP I SAW THEM TOO WUTH 10 OF MY FRIENDS FOR NEWYEARS THIS YEAR 2010 THIS IS THE 2ND TIME I SEEN THEM THEY WERE BRIGHT RED AND LO IN EL CAJON LA MESA AREA THEY MOVED FAST AND ONE WENT SOUTH AND THE OTHER TWO WENT UP AND DISSAPEARED!
My wife and a few of my children woke me up at midnight, 2009/2010 to show me three red dots in a triangular shape fading in and out in southern sky in the direction of El Cajon. We watched them for about 15 minutes. We are in Santee.
I've seen this phenomena over El Cajon 3 times now- twice on the 4th and now on New Years. Other sightings have been similar...objects moving in formation then departing after about 15 min. The slight movement of the lights while 'hovering' suggests they are not too far away and the controller 'Tom' confirms these are likely low altitude (and not radar reflective). Co-movement suggests they are tied together, but their departure characteristics don't jive with that. Sure would like to see how somebody is pulling this off...lots of geeks around here capable of putting something airborne but at the risk of whatever it is getting sucked down an intake (I once had a mylar 'birthday' balloon pass within a foot of my jet canopy at 20k'...scared the bejesus out of me as I saw it at the last second and thought I was about to hit something much larger...)
They were Flares.
U GUYS DO KNO A LOCAL MAN DID THIS LOL...HE LIGHTS UP FLARES AND AND THEY END UP RECHING HIGH UP..HE WAS ON THE NEWS LOL HE DOES THIS FOR 4TH OF JULY AND NEW YEARS EVERY YEAR...I LIVED NEXT DOOR AHAHAHAHA
I saw one redlight last night
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