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The incident prompted her to call Vermont State Police, and she soon learned that she wasn't the only Hartland resident to report the noises, which several people said sounded like gunshots and an even louder explosion.
"I have horses, so I was worried about them breaking out," said Paterson, who lives along Route 12 north.
Other than that, she wasn't too frightened, she said, but she certainly was curious about where the noises came from and what they were.
Amy Richardson of Richardson's Family Farm recalled hearing one "low-pitched boom," something akin to fireworks, while walking her dogs near her home on Hartland Hill around 10:45 p.m. She said the sky appeared as if it briefly lit up.
"It definitely startled me," she said.
The explosion, which state police said occurred between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., prompted several people to take to Hartland's Listserv, including Paterson and Richardson's husband, Scott. While Paterson questioned whether others had information about the incident, some posed possible answers.
Comment: A Facebook user also reported that the boom sounded like a jet going through the sound barrier and "shook the hell out of my house" and other users reported window rattling. Tannerite used for target shooting is not likely to cause such an event.