On August 23, 2011 at 9:30 pm cst, I was driving south on Hwy 6, between Shields, ND junction & Selfridge, ND, when a bright flash illuminated the sky & surrounding area. I immediately thought it was lightning then immediately noticed there were no clouds in sky. Looking east in the direction from where the light came & as the flash/lights were dimming, I could see three stationary lights/spheres aligned side by side which vanished immediately. I woke my passenger but the light was gone already. I told her what I saw, then pulled to the side of the road & we scanned the sky immediately but could not see anything related to the incident. We are located in a rural area & I have never seen anything like this in the 30+ years I have lived in the area. I would compare it to an old time flash bulb camera or like someone/something was taking a picture & needed the area illuminated, but on a much larger scale. Ellsworth Air Force Base is about 230 miles to the southwest & Minot Air Force Base is located about 165 miles to the northwest. I have seen military aircraft flying in our area on occasion however I am not aware of any type of machine that is capable of producing the light I saw & disappearing just as quickly.