I remember that night. Who could forget it. There was a similar occurrence a few days ago, but it was said it was trails from a trailer rocket out of California, or something like that. 
Although this picture from a few nights ago looked nothing like what was seen in 97.
Article
Rocket wows Valley observers
Republic staff and wire services
Sept. 22, 2005 09:05 PM
No, the War of the Worlds didn’t start in the Valley Thursday night.
Thousands of people mistook a blaze of fire streaming through the dark night sky around 7:30 p.m. for a spaceship or an airplane or an unidentified flying object.
It turned out to be something slightly less intriguing. The Department of Defense launched a military research satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The satellite left a colorful exhaust plume visible from everywhere in the Valley.
Carl Stallings, 51, who lives near Wittman, was out feeding his dogs when he saw something that looked like an explosion and a trail of fire.
“Then I saw some lights that lit up the sky for what seemed like 100 miles,” Stallings said.
Like dozens of spectators, he first thought it was a ball of fire and perhaps a spaceship coming down. “That was awesome. You don’t see something like that every day.”
The Minotaur rocket carrying a DARPA payload launched into orbit at 7:24 p.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, said Maj. Todd Fleming.
DARPA is the research and development arm of the Pentagon. The 920-pound “Streak” payload will stay in orbit for a year, gathering information about the Earth’s environment in low orbit. The mission’s cost is classified.
The payload was so named because of the streaking movement it makes across the sky.
After blastoff, the rocket - made from decommissioned first and second stages of a Minuteman 2 missile - tracked over the Pacific.
“It was just bright, bright white. I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Ken Baker, who was driving along California’s Pacific Coast Highway from El Segundo to Manhattan Beach when he saw the rocket streaking across the night sky.
“It almost looked like a laser, it was so bright,” Baker told The Associated Press.
People throughout Central and Southern California and parts of Arizona also reported seeing the launch.
