Big Bear couple shocked after large chunk of ice falls from sky, slams through their roof

BIG BEAR, Calif. (KABC) -- A Big Bear City couple is still in shock after a chunk of ice tumbled from the sky, crashing into their roof and ending up in the attic.

Jon and Renae LeClair said they think the ice came from an airplane flying over their home but have no way to tell for sure.

"This is going to kill someone eventually," said Jon LeClair, who doesn't know what can be done to address the issue. "I have no clue. I can't get a hold of the FAA. [The National Transportation Safety Board] says it's not their territory. I filed a report with the sheriff's department and they're just scratching their heads."

LeClair said it happened around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8. He was outside his home, working near his truck.

"It was almost like a sonic boom. It was huge," he recalled. "My wife came out and she thinks somebody's breaking into the house. I said I don't think so; it was like a cannon shot."

Shortly afterward, they discovered a hole about 24 inches in diameter on a section of their roof. They checked their attic and found a chunk of ice almost as big as a bowling ball. At first, LeClair and others thought it might have been from a small meteorite.

But he thinks it more likely came from a plane flying overhead.

"I'm thinking [it was from a] plane, but it's so warm, how can that happen? I know it's 40,000 feet up, but we're pretty warm down here. I don't know," he said.

It has happened before. Eyewitness News reported on two incidents elsewhere in the Inland Empire in 2017 where ice is suspected of falling from a planes passing overhead.

One incident occurred in Chino and the other in Fontana. No one was hurt in either incident.

Eyewitness News has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration for comment. We're still awaiting a response.