Sky Lantern Warning Issued by Murrieta Fire Department

The Murrieta Fire Department joined others in issuing a warning Thursday against purchasing or using a product called sky lanterns.

Local fire officials said they were made aware of "a new product being sold in stores locally that is considered a very dangerous fire hazard," Murrieta fire Spokesperson Matt Corelli said, in a news release.

Sky lanterns, described by Corelli as floating mini hot-air balloon devices, have a flammable element connected to a paper balloon that when lit, makes the lantern rise without control into the air," he said.

"This floating lantern can be driven by winds into dry brush and trees and the open flame can ignite fires that could potentially have destructive outcomes," Corelli said.

The lanterns, or Khoom Fay, have traditionally marked celebrations in Asian cultures, but in recent years have also been used in special events in the U.S.

Corelli warned that in Southern California, the sky lanterns bring the probability of wildfire much higher, as the climate already results in dry brush and trees. 

The Fire Department encouraged the public not to buy or use sky lanterns—indoors or outdoors—because of dangers they pose "to both lives and property if a wildfire starts or a structure becomes on fire."

Corelli said the concern was brought to the attention of one of the Fire Department's investigators through his network of colleagues, which prompted Murrieta fire management to check local stores for the product.

"The product was found and it was unsure how many of them were sold," Corelli said, noting no local fires have been attributed to the product.

The lanterns were found for sale at Walmart stores in San Diego County, according to a North County Times article. The newspaper reported that after it called Walmart representatives about the potentially dangerous product, Walmart said sky lanterns would be removed from its shelves.

Walmart Spokesperson Dianna Gee sent this emailed response to Patch:

“We always want to provide customers with products they want and we recognize this is a popular item. As a responsible retailer, we are committed to complying with local laws in every location where we do business. In many of our stores, we removed the lanterns during different time periods to comply with local ordinances and burn bans.

"However, given the day-to-day changes of local restrictions and the patchwork of various regulations, we have made a business decision to discontinue the sale of this product. We began the process of notifying stores today (June 7) to remove the products from store shelves.”