Mylar balloons caught up in power lines
After days of calm and warm weather, Valentine’s Day will see a major shift in the weather patterns.
Gale-force northwesterly wind conditions are expected Monday through Tuesday. This could cause power outages, but for reasons you might not suspect.
Valentines Day is not only about chocolates and flowers. It also includes helium-filled balloons that will show your valentine how much you love them. Unweighted balloons, particularly metallic ones, can cause serious problems if they drift into power lines, especially in windy conditions.
Metallic balloons, just like all other metals are efficient conductors. They can contact electric power lines in the same way as a metal wrench when they come in contact with the positive and negative terminals.
The metallic balloon can cause power lines and conductors to short out, which can lead to conductors breaking and energized lines falling to ground.
Unweighted and untied metal balloons that drifted into PG&E’s power lines in 2021 caused more than 600 outages. This is a 27 percent increase over the previous year, and the largest number of balloon-related outages PG&E has ever seen in a decade.
To prevent them from floating away, make sure you tie your balloons with a weight.
Untethered inflatables can cause environmental damage and litter national parks
Metallic balloons can not only cause power outages but can also cause environmental damage.
Mylar balloons that reach 3,000 to 7,000 feet can either explode or leak, causing them loss of lift and falling onto land or into water.
The balloons can be mistaken for food by oceanic creatures like sea turtles. The balloons can clog their intestinal tracts and cause them to starve if they are eaten.
They can blow all over the land, and they can end up anywhere, even in pristine wilderness areas, national parks, and forests.
Jay Snow, a park ranger retrieves Mylar balloons out of Death Valley National Park.
It is located at 282 feet below the sea level and is the lowest point in the United States. It is also the hottest, with temperatures reaching 130 degrees and overnight lows of 107 degrees. The park is a land full of beauty and stunning landforms, surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks.
You hike miles through this vast wilderness and come upon a canyon. It is a canyon that very few people have ever walked before. But, like clockwork you come across one these metallic balloons, Snow said.
His fellow rangers found so many colorful chrome-like spheres that had Happy Valentines Day and Happy Birthday written in cheerful letters along the top, that they have wallpapered their cabin with them.
How do Mylar balls get to Death Valley by their own means?
The winds blow eastward from the Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles, for most of the year. They are usually below 6,000 feet. These winds carry Mylar balloons that have escaped from the greater Los Angeles region and are now heading towards Death Valley.
Easterly winds are dominant in late fall/winter and transport them from Las Vegas.
Both scenarios see the balloons hitting the windward slopes and valley floors of Death Valley.
What about other types of balloons?
There are two types today of balloons, Mylar or latex.
Mylar balloons are made from Mylar nylon, which is not considered biodegradable. They are often coated with a metallic finish that conducts electric current.
Latex balloons on the other side are elastic and made from biodegradable natural rubber.
Latex weather balloons of the type launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base are filled in with helium. They measure about four feet at sea level. They expand as they rise through the atmosphere.
They can reach 40 feet in diameter when they reach around 100,000 feet.
The latex can be frozen at this altitude as the air temperature drops to 50 degrees below zero. At that high altitude, a frozen ballon experiences brittle fracture and ruptures into tiny pieces of rubber that fall onto the Earth.
Metal balloons can be inflated and float for up to three months, which is longer than latex helium balloons. They can also pose a risk to power lines or equipment, even days after being released from outside.
To help reduce the number balloon-caused outages, and to ensure everyone can enjoy Valentines Day safely, PG&E reminds customers of these important safety tips for metal balloons:
- Avoid celebrating with metallic balloons too close to overhead electric lines.
- To prevent metallic balloons filled with helium from floating away, ensure they are securely tied to a sufficient amount of weight. Never remove the weight.
- Keep metallic balloons indoors whenever possible. To ensure safety, metallic balloons should not be allowed to be released outside.
- Do not combine metallic balloons.
- Do not attempt to retrieve any balloon, drone, or other toy caught in a powerline. It is dangerous to try to retrieve it yourself. You should not attempt to retrieve it yourself. Call PG&E immediately at 1-800-743-5000 for assistance.
- You can celebrate special occasions safely by making sure that metallic balloons are secured with heavyweights and never released outdoors.
