Sky Warn participants help identify unusual weather patterns and spot storms in their communities, reporting them to the National Weather Service.

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Lt. Lon McEnroe said a number of calls were fielded by area law enforcement agencies about 12:45 a.m.

"They told us Stark and Wayne counties all had reports of it, too," he said.

Dispatchers from the county's 911 center contacted Air Traffic Command in Washington, D.C., to inquire about the event. The command confirmed that Cleveland's control center was checking into a meteor shower that occurred within its air space.

McEnroe said individual calls ranged from "Did we just get bombed?" to "It might be a space shuttle."

Numerous callers reported the large red fireball. Several said their homes shook.

New Philadelphia police said they received reports from several callers on N. Broadway, Miller Ave. NW and Wabash Ave. NW, who witnessed the fireball or heard the boom. An E. High Ave. woman described it as "a blue light that lit up the sky and went down."

Police in Dover said multiple callers reported they heard a loud bang and something rattled their windows. Officers checked all over the city and could not find the source of the noise but noted there were no power outages anywhere.

A weather warning for the area was issued by Environment Canada at 7 p.m.

Firefighters were kept busy responding to emergency calls pouring in, first from Kanata, then downtown Ottawa, then Orléans, as the storm moved from west to east, tearing branches from trees and knocking down trees and power lines.

West-end resident Dave Miekle said city workers told him they had already had reports of 30 downed trees when the storm passed through his neighborhood.

The downpour was so heavy it brought traffic to a halt in some areas.

A Hydro Ottawa spokesperson said most people experienced only a temporary loss of electricity.

Power was restored to all but about 2,000 customers by 8:30 p.m.

A campaign to teach residents how to protect themselves against the virus has been launched.

China has recorded 35 outbreaks of bird flu since last October.

A human case of bird flu was confirmed on June 15 in the southern province of Guangdong, bringing the country's total human infections to 19.

Twelve people have died as a result of the virus.