People throughout British Columbia were treated to a spectacular light show Saturday after what's believed to be a meteor lit up the sky.

Stephen Dalley and his wife were driving north of Comox, on Vancouver Island, at about 7 p.m. PT.

"We were shocked … I mean, it wasn't what you'd expect, but it was bright white, with red and green and some blue colours, with a bit of a trail behind it and it was a large fireball," he said.

"[It was] approximately what the size of the moon would have been if we were looking at the moon."

Dalley said the intense light only lasted for about three seconds.

The streak of light was also seen about 500 kilometres northeast of Comox, near Vanderhoof.

In an email to CBC News, one witness in the area said, "a blue light flashed a moment before the meteor came down."

David Dodge, a retired astronomer who worked at the HR MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, said it was likely a rock from space.

He said this type of event is not unusual.

"These are happening all the time. We've had some very spectacular fireballs in the Malayasia area just a few weeks ago," he said.

"Earlier this year, there was a spectacular fireball that actually ended up in meteorites over Sudan, and a few weeks ago we had one over Vancouver, so these sorts of things are happening all the time."

Dodge said astronomers will use the sightings in the hopes of triangulating the spot where the rock may have landed.