California, 1992: UAPSRS Case No. 24
| Country | United States |
| State or Province | California |
| City | Fresno |
| Date | 8/1/92 |
| Time | 2:00 AM |
| Weather | Fair, night |
| Duration | Not specified |
| Solid Object | Yes |
| Size | Approximately the size of a large SUV |
| Shape | Disc/saucer |
| Shape Details | Two bowls glued together with a short cylindrical top, dark gray with rivets and round nodules |
| Metallic/Shiny | Not specified |
| Color | Dark gray |
| Glow/Halo | Not specified |
| Lights | Yes |
| How Many Lights | Initially a red light, which turned into a brilliant white light |
| How Bright | Brilliant white |
| Light Coloration | Red to white |
| Sound | Not mentioned |
| Motion/Speed | Hovering over the vineyard |
| Number of Objects | 1 |
| Coordination/Communication | Not specified |
| Windows | Not mentioned |
| Occupants | Not mentioned |
| Description | WITNESS ACCOUNT: When I was 16 years old in 1992, I worked at my dad’s vineyards. The ranch was large, almost 1,000 acres and was out near the foothills in Central California, near Chowchilla, Fresno being about 40 miles north. My UFO story begins one night in August during harvest that lasted three days. For context, grapes used for wine are harvested at night when the fruit’s sugar is at its highest. My experience started one night about 2am while I was out watering down the roads. It was my summer job back then and I had been driving tractors since I could reach the pedals. I drove a large tractor that pulled a water tanker that sprayed water onto the dirt roads to keep the dust down during harvest. This all began when I was at the eastern most edge of the ranch watering down the roads and listening to my Sony Walkman (listening to Boys to Men…) when I noticed a red light out in the field that I had never seen before to my left, towards the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The red light did not look too far away, probably about a half a mile or less away. I was driving south, getting closer to the light on my left, going about 10mph and staring at the red light thinking it was helicopter, pondering how strange it was that it was out in the field at this time of night. Then strangely, I noticed the red light rapidly moving closer to me and this made me nervous. I just remember thinking it was a helicopter that was about to fly over me, and possibly harass me, “why is there a helicopter out here at 2am out in no-mans-land?” I nervously thought. The red light got closer and closer, and suddenly when it was about 100 yards away from me the red light turned into a brilliant white light shining directly at me. I was then positive these “people” in this helicopter meant me no good and wanted to harass or even harm me! So, in a panic, I put the tractor in high gear (which is no easy task if you’ve ever driven a tractor while still in motion) and took off back to the office that was about a mile and a half away. When I got back to the office, the water pump on the back of the water rig was blaring as it ran with no water, and I began to recall what had just occurred. It was then that I began to contemplate if what I saw was a UFO? I never saw the helicopter, nor did I hear it, all I saw was the red light coming towards me that suddenly turned brilliantly white, which gave me a very intimidating feeling. That said, being absolutely creeped out, I didn’t go back out into the vineyards that night and fell asleep in the office. The next night I was nervous and a bit scared to be out in the vineyards at night, but I went back to work that night watering down the roads as I had the night before. I remember staying out of the eastern most portions of the ranch that night and stayed as close to the harvesters and other workers as I could, and what happened next is by far the most bizarre experience of my life. I was watering down one of the main roads where the gondolas of collected grapes get dumped into the trailer bins pulled by big rigs so the grapes can be taken to the winery. There were four harvesters operating that night; one would start down a row followed by the second, third, and finally the fourth. As the fourth harvester went into the vineyard, I was approaching from about 20 yards away. The area of bright lights of the harvesters and tractors lit up the darkness like a dome of light, and I remember feeling safe. Then the next moment that all changed. Something at the edge of the dome of safety caught my eye. I saw something hovering over the harvest about 20 feet in the air and 20 feet from me! It was a dark gray craft about the size of a large SUV. It appeared to wobble in the air, and it was shaped like two bowls glued together with a short cylindrical top. I could see rivets and round nodules protruding, something I associated to sensors. I couldn’t see any windows, just dark gray metal with its alien characteristics. Terrified, I began to get my tractor closer to the other workers wanting to point out what I was witnessing, but something inside of me made me pull away from them, fearing they would panic by seeing the hovering craft. I remember a particular woman I made eye contact with whose job it was to walk behind the harvesters to make sure everything is operating ok looking at me like I was crazy and was visibly angry for me for getting my tractor so close to her. My thoughts racing. Fear pumping through my veins. What did I just see? Again, in a panic, I raced back to the office in a daze of fright and played sick to my dad so I didn’t have to return to work. The third day, and still frazzled from the previous night I was out and about on the ranch on one of the ATVs. Feeling rather safe in the daylight I was looking about and there above the riverbed that ran along the vineyards was the craft. It sat there hovering over the sandy dried riverbed about 50 feet in the air and about a half a mile away. I stared at it for a good 5 seconds, until, in nearly an instant, it flew off into the distance disappearing from sight. In shock I stopped my ATV and just sat there, wondering what was going on…? So, there you have it, my UFO story. To this day, many years later this memory still boggles my mind. Did I see a UFO? Did I see a spacecraft piloted by, or operated by, intelligent beings from another planet? What exactly did I see? Did that really happen? I suppose I will never really know. I’ve told my story to people throughout the years and they look at me like I’m insane. I once told my social psychology professor about my experience and he said I was in a wakeful dream state, and it was all a hallucination. I know what happened… really happened! I know what I saw was real, but it’s still hard to grasp what seeing such a thing really means. If what I saw was real over that three-day period so many years ago, then that means the reality in which we live in is very different than the reality our society has been brought to believe. All of which is fascinating. |
| Nearby Landmarks | Sierra Nevada Mountains, vineyard, riverbed |
| Latitude | 36.7468 |
| Longitude | -119.7726 |
| Altitude | 50 feet |
| Propulsion | Not specified |
| Advanced Capabilities | Not specified |
| Visible Payload | Not specified |
| Radar | Not mentioned |
| Signatures | Not mentioned |
| Awareness | Not specified |
| Aggression | Not specified |
| Health Effects | Not mentioned |
| Physical/Environmental Effects | Not mentioned |
| Animal Disturbance | Not mentioned |
| Witness Feelings | The witness is still baffled by the experience and feels certain that he witnessed something unusual, though many people have doubted his account. |
| Witness Assessment | The witness is uncertain about what he saw and is left pondering the nature of the phenomenon. He believes it challenges conventional beliefs about reality. |
| Additional Info | None provided. |
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