Arkansas isn't in the news a lot, but it's recently been getting a lot of buzz on the internet.
Last week, a woman found a massive diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park, which is believed to be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Now this week, a mysterious hole in the ground that's spewing flames up in the air has people wondering, "What in the world is happening in Arkansas?"
According to officials in Midway, Arkansas, which is near the Arkansas-Missouri border, this flaming pit was spouting flames that extended nearly four meters high for almost an hour on September 17.
Investigators have ruled out utility lines, fuel lines, and natural gas as the source of the fire, leading people around the country to speculate what actually caused this strange incident.
Some people have gone as far as to say this flaming pit is an act by Satan, but Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Satan was definitely not involved.
"As far as the spiritual Satan goes, we've ruled that out," Pendergrass said about the one meter-deep hole.
"He didn't come up and stick his pitchfork in the ground and blow that hole out."
But that explanation wasn't enough to silence conspiracy theorists.
"It looks like a meteorite or space junk or ET's Reese's Pieces or who-knows-what dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground, drilling down and sending fire shooting into the air near the northwest Arkansas town," Ethan Forhetz from KY3 News wrote on his Facebook page.
Check this out! A mystery in Midway, Arkansas where it looks like a meteorite or space junk or ET's Reese's Pieces or...
Posted by Ethan Forhetz on Monday, September 17, 2018
The comments on his post were even more wild.
"Whatever it is will be escorted to area 51, and replaced with something else. We will never know the truth. Our government will make sure of it."
"Someone had too much Mexican food?" one user joked on Ozarks Weather Updates post.
"When are they gonna change the name to methway and stop lying to the people?" another chimed.
"Looks like a hole left by an alien spaceship. Beware of abductions and animal mutilations in the area," a user warned.
In the meantime, investigators are working hard to figure out what exactly caused this flaming pit, which will put all our fears to rest.
According to an Arkansas Geological Survey report, geologists believe the hole was created by an animal when they got a better look inside using a camera.
Soil samples have been taken, and will be analyzed in the coming days.
"The soil samples should clear up any possibility of gasoline or anything else put down the hole or migrating groundwater contaminate such as gasoline," Ty Johnson of the Geological Survey said.
The good news is that the hole is believed to not be a threat to citizens.
"We've kind of relieved our fears about it being a danger to the surrounding neighborhood," Pendergrass said.
[H/T: WTOP via AP]
