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DUGWAY PROVING GROUND - Security at this military testing facility has been increased after a meteor was spotted over Utah, and believed to have crashed here, authorities told Fox 13 News.
Dugway officials insist they have no evidence that a meteor spotted over Utah early Tuesday actually crashed here, but that hasn't stopped them from being blitzed with phone calls and speculation that's where the space rock is.
"We have had a large number of calls," said Paula Nicholson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army facility. "However, we don't have any indication at all that it did land on Duway. We have some high-powered radar and nothing has shown that anything at all crashed."
Dugway has a reputation for being mysterious. Approximately 1,300 square miles, the facility tests biological, chemical and munitions for the military. The mystery surrounding some of its projects has earned it the nickname "Area 52."
To add to the mystery, shortly after the meteor flashed across the sky, several military helicopters took off from Airport No. 2 in West Jordan headed toward Dugway. The Utah National Guard confirmed it, but insisted there was no conspiracy -- just a training exercise.
Since the meteor, Nicholson said she has received numerous phone calls about UFOs and people seeking to get on the grounds to search for space rock. Earlier this week, security confronted a man who wandered too close of one of Dugway's borders.
"We do have heavy security right now," Nicholson said.
"Is this increased lately or is this aside from what you'd typically find at Dugway?" Fox 13's Ben Winslow asked her.
"Maybe a little but more because of the meteorite interest," she replied.
Nicholson said there is concern for public safety because the testing range has some unexploded ordinances on it, which is why the military is vigilant about keeping people out.
"We are certainly not searching for it. We do have a large security force and we've had no reports from any of them or any of our employees of anything they've found," she said.
While astronomers have said that the meteor may have crashed near Granite Peak, Nicholson suggested it may be further south -- outside of Dugway. One man showed up at Fox 13's studios on Friday carrying a large rock he found in southwestern Tooele County. He said he was looking for arrowheads when he found the rock.
"At the base of the hill, right at the edge of the snow, there was this -- sitting in the mud," the man, who did not want his identity revealed, said.
The rock, which is black and polished, was out of place for the area it was found. Asked if he believed it was a piece of meteor, the man replied: "I hope so."
