FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – PG&E typically sees a spike in the number of power outages caused by metallic balloons during the graduation season.
“California state law requires that every mylar balloon is sold with a weight, those weights are meant to stay on those balloons to ensure that they don’t get out of the hands of those that have them, come into power lines, and cause power outages.” – Katie Allen, PG&E Spokesperson.
In the first five months of 2017, metallic balloons striking electric lines caused nearly 132 power outages – cutting power for more than 76,000 customers.
Power outages have affected critical facilities such as hospitals, schools, even traffic lights.
If your graduation celebration involves balloons, make sure they’re secured with a weight to prevent them from floating up and away – into overhead power lines, and never try to retrieve any type of balloon tangled in a power line.
Call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report balloons in power lines.
Click below to listen to the story by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
