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On Monday night, numerous photos and videos were posted on social media of unexplained light sightings along the coast. Sightings were reported from South Mexico and Tijuana up to La Jolla, with people as far east as Santee being able to see them.
Speculation on the source of the lights ran rampant on social media, with Twitter user @gabegunlock stating, “It’s still happening, going on about an hour now. Multiple floating lights over the ocean. Very still, very bright. Orange, reddish light. Patterns of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.”
One possible explanation came from the San Diego Police Department’s watch commander who told FOX 5 that lifeguards believe the lights were flares in use for a military exercise.
KGTV 10 reported that the Coast Guard said the lights were the result of naval crews conducting flare training with expired flares.