Mylar Balloon Power Outage Affects 2500 North OC Homes

WESTMINSTER, CA — Thousands in Orange County were without power for several hours Friday, during the heat of the day according to Southern California Edison.

"The outage, which began at approximately 1:30 involved 2,500 homes across the Westminster area," SCE Spokesperson Yvonne Lee said. "Mylar--metallic--balloons were the cause."

Hundreds of outages occur annually due to the balloons that get into the power lines, according to Lee.

While June is the worst month for Mylar balloon mishaps, July is continuing to prove a problem for the SoCal Edison workers.

This is almost certainly because of releases during its celebrations, notably graduations, weddings and Father’s Day.

"There is nothing to celebrate, however, for the hundreds of thousands of people and businesses affected annually when the released balloons subsequently end up in power lines," Lee said.

SCE has experienced an average of 132 balloon-related outages in June over the last five years, with only May’s average of 112 outages coming close. More hazardously, the balloons can explode in power lines and bring them down (which happened 111 times last year), potentially leading to serious injuries and property damage.

"We would like to remind people that when you celebrate with Mylar balloons, remember to keep them on their weights and to puncture them rather than set them free," Lee said.

Power was restored to those homes as of 3:30 p.m.

Remember, if you see balloons caught in power lines call: 1-800-611-1911

Read also: Mylar Balloon Causes Transformer Explosion, Downed Wires

Southern California Edison, photo