Thousands of Southern California Edison customers were suddenly left without power late Tuesday morning in Newhall after balloons came in contact with power lines, according to officials.
The outage was reported at 10:39 a.m. and impacted an estimated 3,715 customers “due to Mylar balloons in power lines,” said Edison spokeswoman Taelor Bakewell.
Affected areas include north of Dalbey Drive, east of Valle del Oro, south of Newhall Avenue and west of Valley Street.
“Our crew is out there working right now to see the damage done and is working as quickly as possible to restore back the power,” said Bakewell.
Power was estimated to be restored by 11:39 a.m., according to Edison’s online power outage map.
Balloon-related outages have increased in recent years, with an all-time high of 1,128 metallic balloon outages in 2018, Edison officials said in a news release.
“Metallic balloons that come in contact with power lines can cause power outages,” Edison’s website read. “Keep them far away and never release them outdoors. If you see a metallic balloon near a power line or stuck in a tree; please report it to SCE by calling: 1-800-611-1911.”
