Deputies investigating 'large fireball' southwest of Salem

SALEM, Ore. — Deputies are investigating a large fireball falling to the ground in the southwest area of Polk County.

The Statesman Journal reports a resident reported the fireball around 4:50 p.m. Thursday, thinking it was a plane crash, according to Lt. Dustin Newman, a spokesman with the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

No reports have come in from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Newman says deputies — along with the U.S. Forest Service, a Life Flight Network helicopter and a local timber company — are working to locate a possible landing location and determine what the fireball is.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office posted images on its Facebook page.