Mystery of the 1978 Bell Island Boom: Ball lightning, melted power lines and other weird electrical stuff in Newfoundland

An artist’s impression of the ball lightning seen by many local residents on Bell Island, Newfoundland in 1978

Was it ball lightning, an overhead meteor explosion or a test of a top secret electromagnetic weapon of some kind? What caused the explosive phenomenon on Bell Island, Newfoundland in 1978 that electrocuted livestock, melted power lines, and produced floating orbs of fire? Enough energy was released that day to set off the American nuclear test watch satellites, and weapons researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory soon showed up at the site. CBC Reporter, Rick Seaward, was at the scene in 1978. He investigates the mysterious phenomenon and the shadowy events that followed in this broadcast from the following year.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3