FT255 / FT256

On 4 September 2009, FT received a report from a witness in the Forest of Dean. He described how, while near Parkend, Gloucestershire, at 10.10 that night, he saw two orange, glowing lights drift across the sky and was able to snatch some brief footage with his HD video camera.

The case found its way to me and I was ready for it – because it represented perhaps the 50th such episode that I had logged in 2009.

Never in the field of ufology has the flow of sighting reports become so stereotypical. It’s been getting to the point where I feel I can finish an account for a witness after just a few seconds of their recollections, knowing all too well what they are about to tell me. It would be very bad investigation, but it’s hard to resist now that everyone and their cat seems to be seeing (and filming) the same fleet of UFOs cavorting across the skies.

Only days earlier, and just over the Severn Estuary, another witness had contacted FT. This, too, was a careful description, from another evidently intelligent observer bemused by the wonder of what had just been seen. And, on this occasion, the report had plenty of support from other witnesses who had described the same event from a nearby location and reported it to the UK UFO forum for the county of Avon. These features are usually gold dust to a UFO investigator.

THE LONGWELL LIGHTS
This earlier sighting took place on 24 August at 9.15pm in the Longwell Green area of Bristol. David, who had reported it to FT, explained that he had been “very much a sceptic about UFOs” up to that point. He understands that nine out of 10 sightings can be explained. He even considered my first suggestion for a resolution (see later) almost as soon as he saw the UFOs that night. However, his objectivity was shaken by the way the events developed.

David saw three glowing blobs of fire rise up rapidly from an area near a leisure centre. They passed over his head, seeming to slow and then accelerate away. He was very impressed by how the orange forms sparkled – not unlike fireworks, but in the form of a large ball. He watched from the ring road nearby as a further four or five glowing masses rose up and headed away.

Support for his story came from a woman, her son and his girlfriend who were near the leisure centre and saw the same objects at even closer quarters. They noted a rippling effect as the blobs passed overhead and how they seemed to behave a little like jellyfish as they pulse in and out.

This second group of witnesses saw a total of six of the glowing lights in a line as they drifted away. Video footage was obtained from a distance.

So, there is no reasonable doubt that these sightings actually happened and that the phenomena were unusual enough to have persuaded several rational witnesses that they had seen something unidentified.

However, being unidentified by a witness at time of perception and remaining unidentifiable after study are very different things. My suggested resolution to both these cases is that the objects were fire lanterns – fast becoming the bane of modern ufology.

While two of the above witnesses understood why this theory made sense, and David had even considered it himself, the majority of the participants – and an increasing number of similar witnesses week-in and week-out – are finding it hard to marry their idea of a flimsy floating decorative fire balloon with the splendour of what flew right over their heads. What they saw just seemed too spectacular to be constructs of paper and wire.

THE WEDDING PARTY
Fire lanterns, Chinese lanterns, Thai lanterns, flying lanterns (various terms are used) have long been a staple of celebrations across the Far East. They are a fairly recent import to the UK as a romantic replacement for fireworks, whose costs have soared. Over the past three years, sales have increased prodig­iously and they are now extensively used not just at wedding recept­ions, but also at anniversaries and even barbecues. Barely a weekend in the summer goes by without several fleets of them being launched into the skies and drifting about. In fact, in the UK they are now appearing all year round and are growing in popul­arity in other countries.

The lanterns use a candle that is attached to a large paper bag, up to 1m in height – although more expensive versions two or three times that size are also available. They sell for a few pounds and have a variety of shapes and colours. Typically, the candle is lit, causing the warm air to rise and fill the paper lantern just like a hot-air balloon. The lanterns then drift away with the wind, sometimes rising to surprising heights. It is considered good luck to launch them in threes, with multiple launches stagg­ered by a few minutes and guests taking turns to make wishes or give blessings as they send the lanterns aloft.

One company (there are many which sell them) advertises that they can stay aloft for 20 minutes, fly several miles and reach heights of up to 2,000m before they float gently back to earth. The paper is designed to be biodegradable over a few weeks, but the wire is more resilient and can last months.

The flickering orange candles and the glow from the illuminated lanterns in flight is very pretty when seen at close quarters, but can look quite unusual from afar if you are unaware of the launch and only see the things as they are soaring away.

Small wonder that barely a week goes by without another ‘startling’ video of floating orange balls turning up on local TV or appearing inside a daily tabloid.

But, unfortunately, this tale of light-hearted celebrations which can trigger innocent misperceptions has a dark side. There are real concerns at the heart of this mystery.

NOT AN ALIEN INVASION, BUT STILL DANGEROUS
The sudden onslaught of multiple sightings of floating orange balls of light has precipitated media suggest­ions that a UFO invasion is underway. But I am convinced that the real truth lies in the fast-growing trend to use decorative fire lanterns as part of a celebration. These are launched into the heavens as an alternative to a firework display and their unexpected visual allure leads to many presumed UFO sightings from baffled witnesses.

Curiously, some of those marketing these lanterns are well aware that their products are being misinterpreted as UFOs. One retailer even has a section of their site devoted to gathering reports from purchasers. They invite users to describe how their launches have led to flying saucer scares in the local press. UFO competitions, as they are sometimes referred to, are becoming a popular sideline of the lantern party experience.

One site even asks purchasers to advise if users have convinced neighbours that their lanterns were visitors from Mars! Some cust­omers are bound to find that challenge rather tempting.

Innocent as this pastime might be, it has resulted in an explosion of misperception. For over 30 years, I have fielded reported UFO sightings made to Jodrell Bank science centre. Usually the cases have been a broad mix of meteors, satellites, laser displays, aircraft and the occasional more interesting riddle. But things have changed rapidly. In 2007, less than 15 per cent of the cases reported via Jodrell Bank were explained as lanterns. This rose to almost 50 per cent in 2008 and so far in 2009 the total has exceeded 90 per cent.

This is a measure of the extent to which this problem has taken over UFO research – although in fact it is not entirely new. In the 1970s, the local UFO group in Manchester chased a series of sightings of orange lights dribbling blobs of fire from the sky. They were traced to youths who were launching homemade hot air balloons from the Penn­ines. The teenagers had used candles and plastic bags. Later, during the infamous wave of UFOs seen and photographed over Gulf Breeze, Florida, in the late 1980s, it was believed that naval recruits at a nearby base were using similar homemade devices to put on regular displays for sightseers attracted by the original UFO events.

REASONS TO BE FEARFUL?
One might think that the modern misperception of lanterns as UFOs will eventually dissipate once people become accustomed to recognising this particular type of IFO or, indeed, as the fad for their use wanes. In the meantime, they are straightforward to identify because the reports invariably involve twinkling, pulsing or flickering orange blobs in formations of from two or three to a dozen or more drifting across the sky and always with the prevailing wind. Tracing the lanterns to a precise launch point is not usually necessary if these consistent features are observed. The odds will then be that the UFO is really a lantern launch and the investigator can move on.

However, there are potential problems that go beyond the UFO community. While these lanterns are well designed to be as safe as possible, no manufacturer can anticipate all eventualities or do more than offer sensible advice to its customers.

Risk of a fire caused during launch or, less likely, by fire from the sky falling to the ground is probably small but cannot be fully eliminated, and some farmers fear that during dry spells their crops could be set ablaze. Mick Heath in North Staffordshire was one of the first to issue a ban against the launch of lanterns on his land in April 2009 – but, of course, they can be launched some distance away; I have had cases where they travelled over 10 miles in flight.

This farmer’s action has some support from Craig Dooley of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, whose team has been called out to investigate what proved to be lanterns, but that had to be initially considered as a ‘high’ fire risk. In another instance, a serious rescue operation had to be put in motion as reports had misinterpreted some lanterns as a light aircraft crashing in flames.

The ultimate nightmare possibility then unfolded in North Rhine, Westphalia. Here, a 10-year-old German boy died in a house fire that was suspected to have been caused by a lantern. It resulted in a three-state ban on their sale while investigations proceeded.

Even in a nation where many of the lanterns originate there are concerns. In July 2009, the Vietnamese Prime Minister announced a suspension of sales after fires and power failures enveloped Hanoi when lanterns fell around an electricity station.

The coastguard on the Isle of Wight voiced further concerns in September 2009, issuing advice not to launch lanterns near the shore. On another occasion, the Dover coastguard had also responded to a distress flare, but on arrival discovered only lanterns floating up from a beach. Coastguard spokeswoman Ros Evans noted that: “The biggest worry is that genuine distress flares might get unreported or uninvestigated”.

And it’s not just human life that might be at risk. The wire left behind after a lantern falls is another potential hazard. On 7 September 2009, a veterinary practice in Somerset reported to the Weston and Somerset Mercury that they had just had their sixth recent case in which a cow had died from eating what they suspected to be debris from a lantern; it was suggested that the metal can be chopped up by a combine harvester and then find its way into animal fodder.

How far the lanterns can really be to blame for any or all of these incidents remains open to argument, and engaging in a fair debate is the best way forward at present rather than simply calling for an immediate ban.
I recognise that many people enjoy the spectacle, and you cannot legislate against every eventuality. However, reasonable grounds seem to exist to at least consider the problems that the rapid spread of this pursuit might involve.

UP IN THE AIR
Proving that any UFO sighting is caused by fire lanterns can depend upon someone owning up to it; launches don’t need to be registered with the authorities and so are often imposs­ible to trace. Happily, however, they result in very consistent witness descript­ions and it is usually possible to make a reasoned deduction.
As for the two cases featured at the start of this article, we can only balance the reasonable doubts from some of the eyewitnesses against my checks into the wind speed and direction for the time of these events. Those results match the flightpath that would have been followed by windborne lanterns.

Not conclusive, I concede, but sensible judgement suggests that – as in so many other cases – they are probably down to someone launching lanterns.

I have been accused of ultra-scepticism by some online commentators, but I suspect the arguments over this virulent new form of ‘UFO sighting’ won’t be going away any time soon.