PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. -- Brian Vike is not about to point to little green men, but he says something strange is happening in the skies of northern B.C.

Mr. Vike, a "ufologist" and editor of the paranormal magazine Canadian Communicator, is mystified by the largest number of airborne-phenomena reports he has seen.

Since Feb. 1, Mr. Vike has received 73 reports of strange lights and objects in the sky over the region. That compares to five or six reports at the same time last year.

Now he is hearing about sightings over the north coast, and wants to hear from Prince Rupert, B.C., residents who think they have had a close encounter.

"Things like real bright lights doing real strange things," he said. "If you look up in the sky and see a bunch of stars, and all of a sudden five points of light start moving together, then disappear -- that's not a satellite."

Of the 73 sightings, Mr. Vike said five can be explained as planets and shooting stars. The rest evade easy answers, such as the case of three women travelling from Smithers, B.C., to Houston, B.C., who encountered a "huge craft."

"It descended through the cloud cover, went towards them at about tree-top level and went right over their car," Mr. Vike said.

"I interviewed them, and they were just freaked. . . . The thing is, people want some answers for what they're seeing."

Mr. Vike guesses that the spate of unexplainable events may be linked to military activity in the area.

"One report we got from nine witnesses in several locations on July 29 was of a white [and] yellow object as big as a school bus that was seen below the horizon, going into the valley.

"Some of my contacts in the Department of National Defence haven't written back to me lately, which is unusual."

Mr. Vike said he has unconfirmed reports from Telkwa, B.C., and Houston of military vehicles travelling the back roads.