By Tim Binnall
An Arkansas family suspects that a meteorite may be to blame for a massive hole that mysteriously appeared on their back porch. The curious case reportedly occurred earlier this month when the Devane family was roused from their sleep by an onslaught of smoke pouring into their home. Understandably concerned about the worrisome predicament, they set about searching for the fire responsible for the situation and soon discovered a rather sizeable hole on their deck. Fortunately for the family, it would seem that the fire that caused the damage had been largely extinguished by water from a nearby hot tub which had partially melted due to the heat.
When authorities arrived on the scene, they were flummoxed by what they found as there was no indication that the blaze had been electrical and, based on their observation, it had seemingly begun on the ground beneath the porch. When the Devanes later cleaned up the area, they stumbled upon a small magnetic rock on the ground beneath the location of the hole, which led them to wonder if the fire could have been caused by a meteorite striking their porch. That said, their theory can only be confirmed by the US Geological Survey, which could take over a year to make its determination.