According to our media partners at M-Live, Kaylin Adams wasn’t sure where the light show in the sky she witnessed Sunday night while heading north on I-75 near Grange Hall Road was coming from.
“I was driving when I first noticed them, I was very shocked,” she said Monday evening. “We pulled over, along with many others to be able to get a better view of it.”
A Facebook video that Adams, 27, of Grand Blanc, shot of the light show from the Grange Hall Road exit has drawn more than 70,000 views and 2,000 shares in less than 24 hours’ time.
“I was not expecting it all,” she said of the response. “I can’t believe it.”
She noticed 10 to 15 other vehicles pulled over on the side of the road as the show took place including the lights stretching a few hundred feet and changing to red, white, and blue at one point.
While speculation abounded on her post about the possibilities — including aliens or lights from the Mt. Holly ski hill to the Chinese satellite that re-entered the earth’s atmosphere Sunday night — the answer is a little different.
Kyle Dorosz, the chief executive officer for Lake Orion-based Firefly Drone Shows, said the business was test flying custom-built drones at the Holly Cloud Hoppers flying field situated off the interstate near Grange Hall Road.
“We’re practicing in the area,” he commented. “I’m working with the Cloud Hoppers and the (Department of Natural Resources). They gave us permission to do some testing here.”
The drones are specifically made for the purpose of performing drone light shows, Dorosz added. A full run-through of the show requires practice to take place at dusk.
Adams said the explanation makes sense as she went to try and find the source “because after a few minutes they lowered to the ground and were hovering.”
Dorosz, who operates the business with partner Ryan Sigmon, said they have done some practice runs during the daytime at the flying field Tim McAuley, president of the Holly Cloud Hoppers group, said is located on a couple acres leased from the DNR through the Holly Recreation Area.
Police have been called out a few times in the past to the flying field, McAuley said, as motorists spotting large model planes from the interstate notified authorities after what appeared to be crashes.
“We were sure it was going to draw attention, we just didn’t know how quickly,” said Dorosz of the drone display. “We are hoping to entertain people and have a cool experience. We don’t want people stopping on the side of I-75… Pull off the highway and watch from a safe spot.”