REGION — A little past noon on Tuesday, Nov. 26, people across much of Oxford County were surprised by a large boom, which shook many people’s homes.
Bethel, Greenwood, Woodstock, Rumford, Sumner, Norway and Andover were among the many towns that heard the “big boom.”
Bryant Pond resident Candi Walker recalls hearing the loud noise.
“On November 26, at about 12:38 p.m. I was walking down my hallway and I heard this loud boom. My whole house shook,” she said. “It sounded almost exactly like if I was standing next to a dump truck and the tailgate slammed down. I ran to the window to see if there was any heavy equipment in my yard, and there was nothing. It was quick, like a one second boom and it didn’t happen again.”
Andover resident Deborah Cayer had a similar story. She was outside putting up Christmas lights when she heard the boom.
“I heard a massive boom. It shook the ground. My husband was inside and he thought a truck had hit the house,” she said “He said it actually rattled the windows enough that he thought they may break. Our dog was scared for quite a while after.”
Cayer added that later on, a member of the Andover Fire Department stopped by while he was out looking for the source of the noise also.
Many other residents from neighboring towns said that the noise caused their homes to shake.
Multiple residents believe the sound was produced by a sonic boom, but so far local law enforcement and fire departments have not confirmed that it was a sonic boom.
Others are not as convinced, saying that the ground under their homes shook, making them believe it was an earthquake.
Bethel Fire Chief Mike Jodrey said he heard that it may have been old explosives that were set off in Rumford. Jodrey added that this is only a “rumor” and that he has not gotten any confirmation that this was actually the cause of the boom. Bethel Town Manager Loretta Powers said she heard something similar to Jodrey regarding the cause of the noise.
Rumford first responders had no knowledge of the source.
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