Residents of El Dorado County near Swansboro have reported hearing “mystery booms” for some time now, with some considering what their cause might be.

Residents have theorized that work occurring at an underground mine or some other source below ground may be the cause, as reported by Fox 40 out of Sacramento. However, following numerous calls to law enforcement about the noises, police have stated that they believe the sounds are sonic booms from jet aircraft.

Fox 40 reports:

Noise from fighter jets breaking the sound barrier could be behind what’s being heard in Swansboro.

That’s according to a statement from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s department – one prompted by a new round of concerned calls to deputies.

Representatives 160 miles away at Naval Air Station Fallon Nevada have confirmed aircraft there are breaking the sound barrier during live bomb training.

The report also cite’s El Dorado county’s “unique geography” as a contributing factor, noting that there is a long history of reports that associate the booms with this region. “The stories we hear from the old-timers go back generations,” said Dawn Moore of the area Mosquito Market and Kitchen.

In the 1990s, an investigation of booms heard in parts of southern California indicated that seismic data was consistent with previous models of observed sonic booms carried inland by anomalous sound propagation. However, the final source of the aircraft or flight schedules that led to the booms reported in that area remains indistinct, as the researchers could not match the incidents directly to military activities and flight schedules.

It would be interesting if a longer history of boom reports does exist, which might suggest a geological component to the phenomenon.

Our friend Peter Reyland sent us the following video compilation that includes reports and descriptions of the noises occurring in El Dorado county, featured on his YouTube channel: