Floating party favors turned into neighborhood villains on Sunday evening when mylar balloons drifted into power lines in New Orleans East, cutting electricity to parts of Plum Orchard and Read Boulevard West. The lights went out around 6:30 p.m., darkening homes, intersections and a few businesses, before crews got most customers back online by about 7:30 p.m. Neighbors reported traffic lights blinking out and evening plans briefly put on pause.
What officials said
According to WWL-TV, Entergy said the outage started when a mylar balloon came into contact with a power line, knocking out service to more than 2,000 customers in New Orleans East. Crews isolated the fault and restored power to most customers by around 7:30 p.m., the station reported.
Why mylar balloons cut power
Utilities say mylar, also known as foil, balloons are trouble because their metallic coating conducts electricity. When they snag on power lines they can short circuits, trip breakers or damage equipment. Per Entergy, even a single balloon can cause a fault that forces crews to de-energize circuits while they make repairs, and the company urges people to secure and properly dispose of foil balloons.
City rules and a pattern
This latest outage is part of a pattern city leaders have been tracking. A string of similar incidents pushed the New Orleans City Council to ban outdoor releases of mylar balloons in late 2024, a move detailed in coverage of the ban on outdoor mylar balloon releases. Earlier cases have packed an even bigger punch: Axios reported that an August 2024 balloon strike near the Carrollton water plant triggered a citywide boil-water advisory, and local TV outlets have since reported other balloon-related outages.
How residents can help prevent outages
Entergy asks residents to resist the urge to play hero and never try to pull balloons off power lines themselves. Instead, people should report stray balloons on lines or outages through the company’s app or by calling 1-800-9OUTAGE, and can check the utility’s safety pages for more on why balloons are hazardous. Event organizers and parade crews are being told to pay special attention: officials say violations of the city’s ban can come with fines, and local coverage has repeatedly urged people not to release mylar balloons along parade routes.
