What did the declassified documents reveal?

PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD, LOCAL THIRTY‑ONE GMT, JULY NINETEEN FIFTY‑NINE. This document is a field observation report filed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, United States Air Force, concerning unidentified aerial phenomena reported in the Yakima, Bremerton, and Bellingham areas of Washington State. The record was uploaded to The Black Vault archive, accessible at https://archive.org/download/1959-07-8407543-Yakima-Bremerton-Bellingham-WashingtonArea/1959-07-8407543-Yakima-Bremerton-Bellingham-WashingtonAreadjvu.txt. It is notable for containing one of the earliest civilian reports of multicolored lights in the Pacific Northwest, and for the subsequent Air Force memorandum that classified the sightings as “lights and flares emitting from known friendly sources.” The document was released to the public through The Black Vault, a repository of declassified government records. The file appears in the archive without a specific Freedom of Information Act case number, and the declassification authority is listed as the United States Air Force, Directorate of Intelligence, 23rd Air Division, McChord Air Force Base, Washington. The release date on the archive page is not specified; the material is identified as a public‑domain government record. The record begins with a project heading and a brief summary of the sighting: PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD. LOCAL THIRTY‑ONE GMT — FIVE PHOTOS. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: TEN MINUTES. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING: Report on July NINETEEN, NINETEEN FIFTY‑NINE, of a luminous object, described as a “balloon‑like” or “balloon‑type” phenomenon. LOCATION: Yakima, Bremerton, and Bellingham, Washington. TYPE OF OBSERVATION: Ground‑based visual. SOURCE: Civilian. NUMBER OF OBJECTS: NINE. COURSE: Varied. CONCLUSIONS: □ Was Balloon □ Probably Balloon □ Possibly Balloon □ Was Aircraft □ Probably Aircraft □ Possibly Aircraft □ Possibly Astronomical □ Insufficient Data for Evaluation □ Unknown. The report continues with a series of newspaper clippings and eyewitness statements. A Yakima newspaper article dated August TWENTY‑SEVEN, NINETEEN FIFTY‑NINE describes “lights in the sky” observed by local deputies. The article notes that the lights were “orange and white” in Yakima, while “red, green and white” were reported in nearby towns. The same article records a comment from the Fair‑child Air Force base at Spokane, which told Yakima that the lights were “aircraft refueling operations.” Further testimony from a deputy sheriff in Yakima recounts that the lights persisted for three hours, appearing at an altitude of approximately one hundred fifty feet, and that the objects “changed from red to green to white.” Additional statements from local law‑enforcement officials in the Bremerton area are recorded. Deputy Sheriff L‑C‑S. Cline reported seeing the objects from Waterman Beach; Detective Bill Clifton reported sightings from Ross Point and from his home at Gorsl. The reports describe…

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

1959 07 8407543 Yakima Bremerton Bellingham Washingtonarea

◆ BLUF — The short version

PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD, LOCAL THIRTY‑ONE GMT, JULY NINETEEN FIFTY‑NINE. This document is a field observation report filed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, United States Air Force, concerning unidentified aerial phenomena reported in the Yakima, Bremerton, and Bellingham areas of Washington State.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source documenthttps://archive.org/details/1959-07-8407543-Yakima-Bremerton-Bellingham-WashingtonArea

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Source document: https://archive.org/details/1959-07-8407543-Yakima-Bremerton-Bellingham-WashingtonArea

Questions about this case

What was 1959 07 8407543 Yakima Bremerton Bellingham Washingtonarea about?: PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD, LOCAL THIRTY‑ONE GMT, JULY NINETEEN FIFTY‑NINE. This document is a field observation report filed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, United States Air Force, concerning unidentified aerial phenomena reported in the Yakima, Bremerton, and Bellingham areas of Washington State.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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1959 07 8407543 Yakima Bremerton Bellingham Washingtonarea

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