Part 1:  More Earth-Shaking Booms in Morristown, Tennessee
and “Shock Wave” Booms in San Manuel, Arizona

© 2013 by Linda Moulton Howe

— “I can't point to any cause and that's concerning.
You think it would show up on a seismograph somewhere.”

- Tony Cox, Morristown City Administrator

Near 4 PM on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, dozens of
Morristown, Tennessee, residents called Hamblen County 911
to report the sound of “a large blast and the Earth shaking.”
The wall above cracked and was photographed by Knoxville's NBC
Channel 10 WBIR-TV. The USGS had no record of seismic activity then.

— “When the boom happened, it was just so fast -
quicker than a normal explosion. It was more like a hollow bang.
And then in the ground, it was like a wave underneath lifted me up.”

- Samuel Lopez, Geology Mining Tech, San Manuel, Arizona

Morristown, Hamblen County, Tennessee,
is 48 miles northeast of Knoxville.

February 16, 2013  Morristown, Tennessee and San Manuel, Arizona - Since my February 1, 2013, Earthfiles and Coast radio reports about the mystery of loud booms, flashes of light and shaking ground and buildings, I have received many more boom reports. This Part 1 focuses on the ongoing puzzle in Morristown, Tennessee, 48 miles northeast of Knoxville, where previously on Wednesday, January 23, 2013, between 1:00 and 3:30 AM, many West Morristown, Tennessee, residents called 911 to report “loud booms” that woke them up. In some cases, people said it sounded “like someone was breaking into my home.”

Hamblen County Sheriff Deputies could not find the source of the booms and other noises. The only working hypothesis now is that perhaps a cave beneath the Meadows subdivision collapsed. But no one knows for certain what happened and the U. S. Geological Survey has no data of seismic activity at the time.

Then the phenomenon occurred again near 4 PM on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, when explosive boom sounds were reported by many residents at the center of Morristown in Hamblen County.

Morristown, Tennessee, February 12, 2013, 4 PM

“We have zero oil or gas wells in Hamblen County,
and no fracking that occur any closer than Claiborne or Campbell County.”

- Meg Lockhart, Spokesperson, Tenn. Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Knoxville, TN's NBC Channel 10 WBIR.com Feb 13, 2013:

Near 4 PM on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, dozens of Morristown, Tennessee,
residents called Hamblen County 911 to report the sound of "a large blast and the Earth
shaking." The wall above cracked and was photographed by Knoxville's NBC
Channel 10 WBIR-TV. The USGS had no record of seismic activity then.

WBIR-TV.com:  We talked to TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation) Spokeswoman Meg Lockhart, who said fracking wasn't to blame.

“We have zero oil or gas wells in Hamblen County, and no fracking that occur any closer than Claiborne or Campbell County,” says Lockhart.

We also checked in with the only permitted mining operation in Hamblen County, according to Lockhart. A manager for Vulcan Materials in Morristown says while they do occasionally "pull a shot" to extract rock from the ground, they did not do so on Tuesday, February 12th. Vulcan Materials did no blasting on Tuesday.

Hamblen County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Chris Bell says they don't believe the shaking is attributable to any road work either. He says they've contacted the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation and the contractors responsible for area sewer and road work. Both confirmed they were not responsible for the shaking. Bell says they're waiting on a written confirmation from geologists, but they also do not believe the area has any natural gas deposits which could be the culprit. He says they've also investigated the possibility of methane gas contributing to the quake phenomenon, but have ruled that out.

Then, we checked with the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information, sponsored by the USGS. Geologist Gary Patterson went and pulled the records from sensors on Tuesday and says he could see activity consistent with an earthquake or quarry blasting. Patterson says the activity shows up over a large area with sensors reporting vibrations in Copper Ridge, Avondale Springs, Green Top, and Lonesome, VA. He says the USGS doesn't have a lot of sensors in that area which may have resulted in the automated system's failure to report the activity. Patterson says they need more time to investigate.

San Manuel, Arizona (red  Google pointer), is 50 miles northeast of Tucson and the blue
outlined Davis Monthan AFB. The region of San Manuel to Galiuro wilderness (long green area
east of San Manuel) have been mined for copper and molybdenum. One mining site is near
the upper central black triangle that marks Sombrero Butte. North of Sombrero Butte, the blue X
marks the location on Thursday, December 13, 2012, at 12:30 PM, when geological mining
techs Steven Salazar and Samuel Lopez were surprised by a loud boom that was simultaneous
with a rippling “shock wave that went through us like a wave in the ocean.”
The red X marks the second site of another similar boom shock wave
mystery on Monday, February 4, 2013, also at 12:30 PM.

Galiuro Mountains in Graham County, Arizona, near San Manuel and northeast of Tucson,
are very rugged wilderness that range from 4,000 feet to 7,671 feet at the top of Bassett Peak.

The week before on February 4, 2013, at a copper mine northeast of Tucson, Arizona, not far from San Manuel and the Galiuro wilderness, two geology mining techs, 45-year-old Steven Salazar and 28-year-old Samuel Lopez, were using their GPS systems to locate and mark old and new mining shafts that needed to be closed off to protect workers.

Mine hole that Steve Salazar and Samuel Lopez had identified on December 13, 2013,
as dangerous and needing to be covered right before lunch and the two men heard
and felt the mysterious shock wave boom. Image © 2013 by Steven M. Salazar.

There were no mining or blasting operations. All was normal and quiet in the wildnerness until the two men stopped work for lunch near 12:30 PM local time. Sammy sat down on the ground while Steven began to eat standing up. What happened next scared both men because it had happened before on Thursday, December 13, 2012, at the same time, near 12:30 PM while both men had taken a lunch break. Sammie Lopez begins with what happened on December 13th.

Interview:

Samuel  Joseph Lopez, Jr., 28, Geological Technician, Copper Mine, San Manuel, Arizona: 

Thursday, December 13, 2012, near 12:30 PM,
copper mine northeast of San Manuel, Arizona

“That first boom on December 13th - the way we were facing was probably north at the time. [ Blue x on above map.] A boom came from the back of us (from San Manuel direction) The ground - I can't say that it shook. It was more like it had a wave in it. We kind of got scared because we thought where we live in San Manuel is not too far and maybe something exploded over there. So we ran to the top of the hill, but there was nothing.

When the boom happened, it was just so fast - quicker than a normal explosion. It was more like a hollow bang. And then in the ground, it was like a wave underneath lifted me up.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT YOU WERE FEELING IN YOUR FEET, LEGS AND BODY?

I was actually sitting on my bottom. Do you know what it looks like when there are ripples in a pool?

YES.

It felt kind of like if you were on a floating device and it lifted and just stopped, like a ripple upward. It was not shaking like an earthquake. It was a ripple in the ground.

IT WAS LIKE YOU WERE ON A WAVE THAT RAISED YOU UP?

Yes, exactly. It was fast, not more than a second.

COULD YOU COMPARE THE BOOM SOUND THAT YOU HEARD TO ANOTHER SOUND THE REST OF US MIGHT KNOW?

Maybe an explosion, but it's hard to explain. When you hear an explosion, you hear BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!  It's real loud and lasts for a while. This was more like a short, fast hollow explosion.

WHAT DOES ‘HOLLOW’ MEAN?

This was like something exploded, but was more like air pushed.

WHICH EXPLOSION IN YOUR LIFE IS THE CLOSEST SOUND TO WHAT YOU HEARD?

This was maybe 10 times louder than my rifle going off when I hunt. I know it was not a typical explosion because I think the ground would have shaken more back and forth.

I TALKED WITH THE GEOLOGIST YOU WORK FOR, JEROME LAMBIOTTE. HE CHECKED WITH USGS AND THERE WERE NO SEISMIC EARTHQUAKES ON EITHER DATE. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY CLEAR ANSWER TO WHAT HAPPENED?

Yes. Where we heard the noise come from, all that's over there is just a bunch of canyons between us and San Manuel. No one was doing any kind of dynamiting over there.

Monday, February 4, 2013, near 12:30 PM,
copper mine northeast of San Manuel, Arizona

CAN YOU TAKE US TOYOUR LUNCH TIME ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2013, AND EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED THEN?

The second occurrence happened on Monday, February 4, approximately at the same time between NOON and 12:30 PM and it was pretty much the same thing. Steven was getting ready to eat lunch and I sat down again. Our backs were towards Sombrero Butte maybe 2.5 miles across the canyon. Around the time I sat down, we heard the boom to our backs again and then the ground did the exact same thing. It had the same ripple feeling like a wave lifting me up, only it was the ground.

WHEN THE WAVE PASSED, DID YOU FEEL A THUD WHEN YOU SETTLED BACK DOWN?

No, it's real fast, like a big wave and then it just stops. There is no other one that follows. You hear the noise and it's almost the same moment that you feel the wave.

BOTH TIMES YOU SAY THE RIPPLE AND SOUND CAME TO YOUR BACK. ON THAT SECOND FEBRUARY 4TH TIME, WHICH WAS DID THE SOUND COME FROM AND WHAT'S THERE?

The second time, it came from the northwest to the southeast, like in the opposite direction from the first time that came from the southwest to the northeast.

WHAT IS IN THE NORTHWEST DIRECTION?

Just mountains.

SO IT WAS CANYONS TO THE SOUTHEAST AND MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTHWEST?

Yes.

IS THERE A NAME FOR THE CANYONS TO THE SOUTHEAST?

Well, there's a mountain in that direction, too, called Sombrero Butte. The boom on December 13th came from that direction around Sombrero Butte.

East side of Sombrero Butte less than a mile from where Sammy Lopez and Steven Salazar
heard and felt the mysterious boom and shock wave on December 13, 2012,
and February 4, 2013. Image by Geologist Jerome Lambiotte, B.S.

HOW FAR IN MILES FROM WHERE YOU WERE AT LUNCH ON THE GROUND?

Less than a mile. You can hear the boom distinctively. The crazy part is that you hear the boom and feel the wave ripple in the ground at almost the same time. It's so fast. Like you hear it and feel it almost at the same time.

ON FEBRUARY 4TH, MONDAY,  HOW FAR AWAY TO THE NORTHWEST DO YOU THINK THE SOUND CAME FROM?

About the same - less than a mile.

Military Helicopters Show Up After December 13th
Boom and Before February 4th Boom

WAS THERE MILITARY ACTIVITY WITH HELICOPTERS AFTER THE FIRST BOOM ON DECEMBER 13, 2013?

After the first boom, yeah, two military helicopters showed up a couple of days after and repeatedly for the next four or five days after that.

One of two Apache helicopters that showed up 3 to 4 days after the first mysterious
boom and shock wave that occurred near 12:30 PM on December 13, 2012. The two
military helicopters repeatedly circled and landed on Sombrero Butte the next four or five days
until around December 17, 2012. Then the military helicopters returned for a couple more days
of circling and landing atop Sombrero Butte a couple of days before the second mysterious
boom and shock wave on Monday, February 4, 2013, also at 12:30 PM local time.
Image © 2013 by Steven M. Salazar taken from the north of the butte looking south
at the helicopter landed on top. and highlighted by Geologist Jerome Lambiotte, B. S.

AT SOMBRERO BUTTE?

Yes, they actually landed on Sombrero Butte.

WAS IT ALWAYS AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes, pretty much around 10:30 AM. They come in and circle around Sombrero Butte a couple of times. Then one will land and the next one will follow and land. They stay maybe four or five minutes and then take off. The last time they came, they circled around Sombrero butte. They landed, took off, and then probably not even 45 minutes later, they came back and circled again. That's the only time they did that twice.

WAS THAT AFTER THE FEBRUARY 4TH BOOM?

No, that was actually before.

HOW LONG BEFORE?

I want to say maybe three to four days.

SOMEWHERE AROUND FEBRUARY 1 TO 2?

Yes.

THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME YOU SAW THEM COME, LAND, TAKE OFF ...

And land again, yes.

SO THE MILITARY DID NOT COME AT 12:30  PM WHEN YOU AND STEVEN HEARD THE TWO BOOMS. THEY CAME EARLIER AT 10:30 AM EACH MORNING THEY FLEW AROUND AND LANDED ON SOMBRERO BUTTE?

Yes, I remember they started showing up out of nowhere and landing on that Sombrero Butte mountain around 10:30 AM.

BEFORE THE DECEMBER 13TH SHOCKWAVE BOOM AND RIPPLE, HAD YOU EVER SEEN ANY MILITARY IN HELICOPTERS LAND ON SOMBRERO BUTTE BEFORE?

No. They flew the area maybe twice before that.

BUT NEVER LANDED?

No. I grew up here and have been hunting near here for ten years and these are the first time I've ever heard  booms in the desert.

SO IN TEN YEARS OF HUNTING AT AGE 28,  YOU'VE NEVER HEARD A BOOM OR FELT THIS RIPPLE EFFECT BEFORE?

Never.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT THE COPPER MINE?

A little over a year.

IN THE YEAR AT THE COPPER MINE, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN HELICOPTERS LANDING, TAKING OFF  AND COMING BACK ON SOMBRERO BUTTE BEFORE?

No, just when these booms started happening.

DID YOU GET A SENSE THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Looking or doing something. I don't understand why they would land on the side of a mountain.

YOUR GEOLOGIST, JEROME, CHECKED  WITH THE GEOLOGICAL SERVICE AND THERE WAS NO SEISMIC EVENT RECORDED ON EITHER DECEMBER 13TH OR FEBRUARY 4TH.

Yes, that's correct. It's weird that both times the shockwave came from the back of us, even when we were facing different directions.”

Steven Mark Salazar, 45, Geological Technician, copper mine northeast of San Manuel, Arizona: “That first boom on December 13th sounded to me like it came over the hill, or through Sombrero Butte. And it was weird - like somebody picked up a carpet and the ripple went right through our feet and through Sammy's body like a wave.

HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE WERE THERE BESIDES YOU TWO?

Sammy and I were alone, but in the first incident, our boss was like 3 or 4 miles away from us. Then on the second incident, Jerome was about 2 miles away from us. Neither one heard anything!

ONE STRANGE ASPECT OF THE BOOM PHENOMENON IS HOW FOCUSED THE SOUND CAN BE DOWN TO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE, BUT NOT A WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD. DID YOU SEE ANY FLASH OF LIGHT WITH EITHER OF THE BOOMS?

No.”

Continued in Part 2.  More high strangeness booms and light flashes.

If any Earthfiles viewer has more information about recent, unexplained booms, please email:  earthfiles@earthfiles.com. All requests for confidentiality are honored.

Also see:

• 02/06/2013 — Viewer Emails about Boom Mystery
• 02/01/2013 — Mysterious Booms and Light Flashes Across U. S.
• 01/25/2013 — Updated: Unexplained Loud Booms Persist in United States
• 01/11/2013 — Part 1: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 2: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 3: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/05/2013 — 26 Hours Before 7.5 Quake, Unexplained Rumbling Boom in Southcentral Alaska
• 12/08/2012 — What's Causing Mysterious Lights, Loud Booms and Strange Hum in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island?
• 10/17/2012 — Loud Boom and 3-D Radar of Mysterious Aerial Object in NW Louisiana
• 08/26/2012 — Updated: More Unexplained Boom Sounds from Sweden to Calif: What's Happening Now in Sacramento? And What Happened August 21st In Oakland, California?
• 05/30/2012 — Updated: Mysterious Booms Heard May 27 and May 28 in Four West Michigan Counties

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More Information:

For further Earthfiles reports about unexplained booms, please see Earthfiles Archive.

• 01/25/2013 — Updated: Unexplained Loud Booms Persist in United States
• 01/11/2013 — Part 1: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 2: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 3: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/05/2013 — 26 Hours Before 7.5 Quake, Unexplained Rumbling Boom in Southcentral Alaska
• 12/08/2012 — What's Causing Mysterious Lights, Loud Booms and Strange Hum in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island?
• 10/17/2012 — Loud Boom and 3-D Radar of Mysterious Aerial Object in NW Louisiana
• 08/26/2012 — Updated: More Unexplained Boom Sounds from Sweden to Calif: What's Happening Now in Sacramento? And What Happened August 21st In Oakland, California?
• 05/30/2012 — Updated: Mysterious Booms Heard May 27 and May 28 in Four West Michigan Counties
• 05/10/2012 — Mysterious Horn and Boom Sounds Still Being Heard
• 05/01/2012 — More Unexplained Booms in Boston and Beyond
• 04/26/2012 — Updated: Mysterious, Persistent Booms Throughout North America and England
• 04/22/2012 — Huge Boom Heard in Central California and Northwestern Nevada - Did Meteorite Hit?
• 04/08/2012 — Part 3: Confusion About North American Booms and Man-Made Quakes
• 03/30/2012 — Part 1: Updated 033021 with boom recordings - Mysterious Rattling Booms Expand from Clintonville to Montello, Wisconsin and Beyond.
• 03/30/2012 — Updated with boom audio Part 2: Boom Phenomenon in Several States and Canada
• 03/20/2012 — Two Nights of Mysterious Rattling Booms in Clintonville, WI
• 03/15/2012 — Updated 031512 - High Strangeness Email: Unidentified Aerial Craft, Strange Sounds and Door-Rattling Booms
• 03/01/2012 — Updated 030112: Solar CMEs Hitting Earth's Magnetic Fields - Do They Make Strange, Loud Sounds?
• 02/28/2012 — Strange Sounds in Washington State
• 02/23/2012 — Updated Feb. 23: Eerie, Strange Sounds Heard in Tennessee and Kansas
• 02/04/2012 — Video of Kiev-like Strange Sound in Amarillo, Texas: What Happened?
• 02/02/2012 — Updated: Earthfiles Email About Mysterious “Chorus of Trumpets” and Other Strange Sounds
• 11/13/2011 — Updated: More Loud Booms in Virginia and Missouri; More Quakes in Oklahoma
• 10/27/2011 — More Mysterious Hum Reports from North America to China
• 10/04/2011 — Updated: What Are Strange “Hums” That Keep People Awake?
• 10/03/2011 — Part 1: Viewer Letters About Strange, Loud Booms
• 06/07/2011 — What Are the Mysterious Booms?
• 05/13/2011 — More Viewer Letters About Mysterious Booms
• 05/11/2011 — Updated Reprints: Earthfiles Viewers Reports of Strange, Loud Booms
• 02/08/2011 — More Reports of Strange Booms and Aerial Lights
• 01/29/2011 — Earthfiles Viewers Reports of Strange, Loud Booms

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Websites:

NBC 10 WBIR-TV:  http://www.wbir.com/news/article/254247/2/Morristown-Mystery-solved-maybe

January 5, 2013, 1:30 AM Eastern, Salem, Massachusetts Light Flash and Loud Boom VIDEO:
http://salem.patch.com/articles/mystery-explosion-caught-on-video-video

January 9, 2013, Evansville, Indiana, Channel 14 (NBC) TV News, "Loud Booms Continue Throughout the Tri-State":
http://www.14news.com/story/20547612/loud-booms-continue-throughout-the-tri-state

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2013/jan/09/nighttime-booms-have-area-residents-puzzled/

http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=575392

http://www.14news.com/story/20537321/did-you-hear-the-booms

http://www.14news.com/story/20547612/loud-booms-continue-throughout-the-tri-state

January 4, 2013, KTUU.com, "Southcentral Authorities Silent On Cause of Booming Noise":
http://www.ktuu.com/news/southcentral-authorities-silent-on-cause-of-booming-noise-010412,0,3323818.story

December 4, 2012, NBC News10.com, "Crews search bay for reports of explosion, lights":
http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/dec/04/crews-search-bay-after-reports-explosion-lights-ar-1263225/

October 25, 2012, NBC News10.com, "FAA: No indication plane crashed into bay":
http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/oct/25/police-investigate-report-small-plane-
down-ar-1216903/

October 18, 2012, NBC News10.com, "Military officials: Jets cause bang, not boom over RI":
http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/oct/25/police-investigate-report-small-plane-
down-ar-1216903/

The Sun, England, April 14, 2012, "Sonic Boom As Jets Investigate ‘UFO'":
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4256091/Sonic-boom-as-jets-
investigate-UFO.html

10TV WBNS, Columbus, Ohio, April 13, 2012, "Cause Of ‘Boom’ Still Up In Air":
http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2012/04/13/columbus-cause-of-boom-still
-up-in-air.html

10 News (ABC), San Diego, Calif, April 13, 2012, "Loud Boom, Shaking Reported Around County":  http://www.10news.com/news/30888243/detail.html

"Clintonville officials want answers after two nights of mysterious booms": 
http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/143450196.html

"Another night of mysterious booms in Clintonville" by Nick Penzenstadler, Post-Crescent Staff Writer:
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120320/APC0101/120320005/night-booms-Clintonville

"Clintonville officials stymied by loud booms" by Nick Penzenstadler, Post-Crescent Staff Writer:
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120320/APC0101/203200419/Clintonville-officials-stymied-by-loud-booms?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CAPC-News

Loud Booms in Virginia and Missouri; More Quakes in Oklahoma:
http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1910&category=Environment

Strange Booms in North Carolina: 
http://www.ufo-blogger.com/2012/02/strange-booms-sound-reported-in-north.html

Strange Booms in Texas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plsmV4DyAlg

Strange Booms in Florida:  http://www.weirdus.com/states/florida/unexplained_phenomena/booming_sounds
/index.php