The sighting of four strange lights over an area near the Sir Adam Beck power plant of the Ontario Hydro Electric Power Commission early today revived memories of the big power blackout that hit the northeast Nov. 9, 1965.

Moments before lights flickered and failed all the way to New York City, people reported seeing a strange red ball hanging over the Beck plant. A pilot landing at Niagara Falls International airport saw a weird object hovering "over a Niagara Falls power station."

Three Niagara Falls police officers saw four pulsating lights for nearly an hour about 2:15 a.m. today.

Patrolmen Thomas Shumway and William Wells watched the lights from Lewiston Road and Hyde Park Boulevard.

"They were like something I have never seen before," said Patrolman Shumway.

"They were in formation and were pulsating," said the officer. He related they pulsated red, white and blue colors.

Patrolman Richard Atkins later joined the two officers and watched the lights. He said that now and then he saw a red streak of light pass through the formation.

Patrolman Atkins said they were across the Niagara River from the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant and near the Beck station. He estimated the lights were about 1,000 feet in the air.

Patrolman Shumway said the lights did not come from an airplane and were motionless until they suddenly shot away to the northwest and disappeared over the horizon.

The officer also said that at about 4:50 a.m. he observed a bright light traveling at a "tremendous rate of speed" shoot over the Niagara River in a northerly direction.

The officer also said that Pinkerton guards for the State Power Authority "have been seeing lights over the reservoir all week."

A spokesman for the SPA said he was unaware of any strange lights over the power facility.

"This is the first I heard of it," said William Latham, resident engineer.

A Hydro spokesman also said nothing was observed.

"There were not any unusual operating conditions," he said.

After the Nov. 9, 1965 sighting over the Beck plant, the head of a National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena suggested the power blackout actually was caused by the unidentified flying object.

The power companies said the blackout was traced to a defective relay at the Beck Station.

After the big blackout, spokesmen for the power firms denied a strange light was spotted over the Beck Station the night of Nov. 9. Since then, however, they have admitted that sightings were reported by hundreds of people.