A Mylar balloon knocked out power for thousands of Milwaukee residents Tuesday night
About 2,400 people on Milwaukee's east side were briefly without power Tuesday night after a Mylar balloon came into contact with a power line, We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway told the Journal Sentinel.
The impacted power line was near North Prospect Avenue and East Brady Street, Conway said in an email. The company received calls of the outage around 7:15 p.m., and crews responded shortly afterward to remove the balloon and repair equipment. All customers had restored power by around 8:40 p.m.
Mylar balloons, or foil balloons, can cause power outages when they get stuck in a power line and then act as a conductor, creating a short circuit. The short circuit from the balloon can also cause power lines to fall to the ground, according to We Energies. "This outage is an important reminder that we regularly share, urging customers to keep balloons indoors," Conway said.
Since 2020, over 120,000 We Energies customers lost power because of outages caused by Mylar balloons, he added. Last year alone, nearly 8,000 customers lost power for an average of 105 minutes due to Mylar balloons.
Here are some tips from We Energies to make sure your balloons are safe:
Never release balloons outside.
Make sure balloons are tied securely to a weight.
Keep balloons away from power lines.
Don't touch balloons entangled in wires.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Power outage on Milwaukee's east side caused by Mylar balloon
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