LOCATION FILE
Bell Island Boom
FOLLOWBell Island, NL
DIRECTIONS →OVERVIEW
An iron-mining island in Conception Bay where, at about 11:00 a.m. on 2 April 1978, an enormous explosion centred on the Bickford farm was heard up to 100 kilometres away and recorded by seismographs across Newfoundland.
REPORTED ACTIVITY
Witnesses reported blinding flashes, fried televisions and melted wiring; a fuse reportedly shot from a fuse box trailed by blue flame, and an outbuilding was moved off its foundation. Proposed explanations range from superbolt lightning to a meteor; none has been confirmed, and the event fell inside a run of roughly 600 unexplained booms reported along the eastern seaboard in 1977–78.
VISITING
The island is reachable by ferry from Portugal Cove; the boom site is private farmland.
SITE PLAN
UPLOAD A PLANNo plan on file yet.
A plan of the building or grounds is what a second team opens on a phone in the dark. Going there? Volunteer to map it, then upload your plan.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Curated references and articles coming soon.
INVESTIGATION RECORD
0 GROUPS · 0 VISITS
No group has logged an investigation here yet.
HISTORICAL RECORD · 0 CITED ENTRIES
SIGN IN TO CONTRIBUTENo cited entries yet. Deeds, newspaper reports, census lines, photographs, ledgers — anything with a source.
COMMUNITY EVIDENCE
SIGN IN TO VIEWEvidence filed at this location — photos, recordings, documents, notes — is visible to signed-in investigators.
GROUP FINDINGS