Flaming object, travelling slowly at low altitude on a horizontal path from north to south.

I was 10 years old, but I remember this event vividly and knew it was something out of the ordinary. I was in my back yard with my younger brother, and I caught sight of a flaming object travelling low over the foothills west of town. I estimate now that it was about 30 to 35 degrees above ground level. It moved on a straight, horizontal path and did not emit any sound, like you would hear from a plane. I don't recall being able to make out the actual craft, but I watched this flaming tail (like you'd see coming from a rocket in an old science fiction movie) slowly cross the sky from north to south until it was out of sight. It can't have been a meteor, because it was moving too slowly, and it remained on a horizontal trajectory rather than descending to earth.
Date is approximate.  PD