Satellite-like lights over Elk Grove/Sacramento Ca

Was watching what I thought was a satellite, but shortly after I noticed it, it flashed a very bright flash (very eye catching if looking even slightly up). I called three other adults on the patio to watch. We watched it slowly cross above and it flashed a very bright flash again. It did this only twice and began to fade away into the big dipper (south to north). Suddenly there was another trailing behind it. Again it looked like a satellite on a straight course. While watching this one it suddenly JUMPED ahead and caught up with the other one covering a vast space in the blink of an eye. Then there was a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, then a sixth, in succession, spread out with many miles beteween them and all traveling south to north in the same line. At times they stopped and displayed a bright "light" ray coming out of them in a search-like mode. The light moved around. It didn't just flash once.