Strange Lights over Phoenix Were Military Flares

Residents of the Phoenix area reported seeing strange saucer-shaped lights in the night sky Tuesday, but military officials say there were no UFOs.

Several residents called local television stations and law enforcement offices. The reports varied from saucer shapes to straight lines dropping below the horizon, according to an online report from the local NBC television station.

The lights were created by military flares dropped at the Barry Goldwater Range to light up targets during training missions, officials said.

A similar military exercise generated a perceived alien-spacecraft sighting in Arkansas last month. Several sightings of strange lights have been reported in recent months.

The Phoenix event was reminiscent of a longstanding mystery often called "The Lights Over Phoenix," in which thousands of people in Arizona and Nevada reported seeing bizarre lights in clusters and distinct formations on March 13, 1997. UFO enthusiasts have kept that event alive as an alien visit, despite the U.S. Air Force identifying the lights as flares dropped in, you guessed it, a training exercise.

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