Multiple people reported hearing a loud boom over the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley around 11 p.m. Wednesday, but its cause and location are unknown.
Of the numerous reports on social media and to law enforcement, the sound was described as being similar to a sonic boom — the sound a jet makes when it breaks the sound barrier. People reported hearing it in Clarkston, Lewiston and the Orchards.
The Whitcom Emergency Dispatch Center, which covers several area municipalities, received 15 calls about the noise. Lewiston police Sgt. Rick Fuentes said LPD dispatch received at least five calls that ranged in location from Lewis-Clark State College to Burrell Avenue to North Lewiston. Clarkston Police Commander Josh Daniel said a patrol officer was outside of his vehicle and heard the noise, but did not see anything. The officer reported hearing the noise near 13th and Bridge streets, but couldn’t pinpoint a location.
No explosions were reported and no structures had any damage, according to multiple law enforcement agencies.
A spokesman for Mountain Home Air Force Base in southern Idaho reported it had no aircraft in the area and didn’t know the cause of the noise. Officials at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane also stated they had no aircraft in the area and didn’t know the origin of the sound.
A spokesman for the National Weather Service at Spokane said no weather events were reported in the area that could have caused the noise.
None of the reports included observations of lights, heat or flames. Local law enforcement reported none of the ammunition manufacturers in the area had any explosions at their facilities.
