NRO Blue Fire document

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Contents 8
NRO Blue Fire document
Area 51 seen from Tikaboo Peak
Area 51 seen from Tikaboo Peak Photo: Geckow · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Date28 July 1991
TopicsBeings & bodies (topic), Government programs (topic), Propulsion & physics (topic)
PeopleTim Cooper, Bob Lazar
TestimonyShellenberger testimony, p. 111
Year1991 in UFO history
Timeline1991 on the UAP Timeline
Sources11

The "Blue Fire" memo is an unauthenticated document that circulated among UFO researchers in the early 1990s and purported to declare a security condition called "Blue Fire" at the secret Groom Lake base, known as Area 51, during a UFO gathering in the nearby town of Rachel, Nevada, in July 1991. Later versions presented it as a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) document.[1][2]

The memo

Majestic 12 In 1988, two FBI offices received similar versions of a memo titled “Operation Majestic-12…” claiming to be highly classified government…
Majestic 12 In 1988, two FBI offices received similar versions of a memo titled “Operation Majestic-12…” claiming to be highly classified government… Photo: Federal Bureau of Investigation · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

According to an Area 51 research site that obtained a copy, the memo surfaced shortly after the first UFO convention in Rachel in July 1991. It advised Groom Lake personnel about the gathering, told them to stay away from conference participants and announced a shutdown of base operations lasting several days while the event took place. Parts had already been blacked out when the site received it. The site's author found the name plausible-sounding but said there was no way to tell whether the memo was genuine. The testimony dates the document to 28 July 1991.[1]

Greer's version

Steven Greer: Dr. Steven M. Greer (Disclosure Project / CSETI / SEAS Power) @ the Conscious Life Expo
Steven Greer: Dr. Steven M. Greer (Disclosure Project / CSETI / SEAS Power) @ the Conscious Life Expo Photo: Energy Artist · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

In a November 2015 workshop, Steven Greer presented an alleged NRO document as the first item in what he called an "Obama briefing" package. In remarks published by his organisation, he read out a series of supposed code names and operations, including Blue Fire, Groom Lake, Dreamland and several "teams", and said the document had been shown to Vice Admiral Tom Wilson, then director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before a meeting. The document's distribution and provenance were not independently documented.[2][3]

Context

Bob Lazar: Groom Lake and Papoose Lake , both in the Nevada Test and Training Range . Groom Lake is also in Area 51 . Note that some of the lines you see beside…
Bob Lazar: Groom Lake and Papoose Lake , both in the Nevada Test and Training Range . Groom Lake is also in Area 51 . Note that some of the lines you see beside… Photo: Doc Searls from Santa Barbara, USA · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

In 1991 public interest in Area 51 was growing after Bob Lazar's 1989 claims, and UFO enthusiasts had begun gathering near the base. The NRO, which builds and operates U.S. spy satellites, was not officially acknowledged until September 1992. The memo belongs to the wider body of unauthenticated papers associated with the Majestic 12 story, many of which have been shown to be hoaxes.[4][5]

Assessment

HAVE BLUE during testing, late 1970s.
HAVE BLUE during testing, late 1970s. Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

No "Blue Fire" operation has been confirmed by any official source, and the memo has never appeared in an official release.[1][4]

People and topics

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) L-7 mission patch with the slogan "We're on a mission from DoD" on the bottom border.
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) L-7 mission patch with the slogan "We're on a mission from DoD" on the bottom border. Photo: National Reconnaissance Office · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
  • National Reconnaissance Office — The U.S. agency that builds and operates spy satellites.
  • Area 51 — The secret Nevada test site where spy planes and stealth aircraft were developed.
  • Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
  • Tim Cooper — California researcher who said he received many MJ-12-style documents from anonymous sources in the 1990s.
  • MJ-12 — Disputed documents describing a secret committee managing crashed saucers.
  • Bob Lazar — Man who claimed in 1989 that he worked on alien craft at S-4 near Area 51.

On the Timeline

Soviet MiG-17F in USAF use
Soviet MiG-17F in USAF use Photo: United States Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

See every 1991 event on the UAP Timeline →

References

Further reading

This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

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