APn  03/04 1224  UFO Hoopla

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 FYFFE, Ala. (AP) -- The prospect of seeing a UFO lured more than 4,000 people
to the town of Fyffe, greatly outnumbering the town's residents.
   "This is unreal," Police Chief Junior Garmany said Friday night while he
watched bumper-to-bumper traffic in the town of 1,300 people in northeastern
Alabama. "We've never had traffic like this."
 Municipal Court Clerk Tammy Mitchell said Saturday the previous night's crowd
had been estimated at "4,500 or something like that." She said people were
"riding around, buying T-shirts, going to a bonfire."
   But for all the hoopla, no unidentified flying objects were sighted Friday.
Visibility was obscured by clouds and light rain.
   "I hope it rains tonight," Ms. Mitchell said Saturday.
 Friday night's visitors drove up and down the town's main street while others
stood gaping at the sky. Fire Chief Ricky Dobbins invited some to his house on
the outskirts of the town where he built a bonfire.
   Police radio dispatcher Shelia Smith said she has been answering calls from
people wanting directions to Fyffe.
   Fyffe got on the UFO circuit Feb. 10 when a woman reported seeing a strange
light in the sky and police later reported seeing a large lighted object 
passing silently over them. Numerous other sightings have been reported since 
then.