Balloons cause power outage in Seattle

SEATTLE - Officials say foil balloons landing in power lines caused an outage that affected about 7,500 homes in downtown Seattle and the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Seattle City Light (SCL) announced the outage was caused by Mylar balloons — Mylar being the foil-like material — coming into contact with power lines. According to SCL, crews responded to an outage in the downtown and Beacon Hill area on Sunday evening.

Just two hours after the outage began, SCL crews restored power to all affected areas. SCL has advised people not to release Mylar balloons into the air and to properly dispose of them after any celebrations to prevent potential outages like the one that occurred on Sunday.