Hot air balloon safety tips demonstrated as fiesta nears
Balloons caught in power lines should not be approached or touched
Sometimes safety advice seems, well, obvious. Don’t run with scissors, don’t set a plugged-in radio on the edge of your tub while taking a bath, and don’t put your hand down a jammed garbage disposal before unplugging it.
Here’s another tip, particularly important at this time of the year, even if it seems a tad self evident: Do not approach or touch a hot air balloon entangled in electric power lines.
Art Anaya, Line Department supervisor for the Public Service Company of New Mexico, on Wednesday addressed a group of Balloon Fiesta officials, law enforcement officers, city and county firefighters and other first responders to provide reminders and guidance on what to do and not do should they encounter a balloon caught on a power pole or in power lines.
Set against a staged backdrop of a balloon envelope dangling from a power line at the Reeves Generating Station off Paseo del Norte west of Jefferson, Anaya said, “always assume that all power lines are energized,” even if electrical arcing or sparking is not visible.
When encountering a balloon entangled on a pole or in a power line, fight the natural inclination to run over and try to help, which could cause an electrical chain reaction.
Instead, Anaya said, keep a safe distance, keep calm, call 911, “and ensure the people in the balloon that you are calling for help.”
Trained PNM crews will arrive quickly, turn off power to the poles or lines and help to safely remove the balloon, as well as remove people stuck in gondolas suspended off the ground when necessary.
Police officers and firefighters encountering such a scene should also keep their distance and set up a safety perimeter of 75 to 100 feet around the balloon. It is important that they communicate as much detail as possible to a 911 operator, particularly the location of the entangled balloon or a downed power line and if there appear to be injuries.
Fire Department personnel, Anaya said, should refrain from spraying water on power lines because “water and electricity is a deadly combination that could result in serious injury or death for those spraying the water and those around or in the balloon gondola.”
Getting caught in power lines or poles is not common, though it generally happens at least once during each fiesta, Anaya said.