Mylar Balloons a Big Problem for Yakima Training Center

It's the birthday party season and authorities from the Yakima Training Center environmental division have a request; Don't release balloons, especially Mylar balloons in the air throw them away instead. Officials at the center says since 2018 wildlife technicians have found 336 Mylar balloons at the training center that can cause fires and kill wildlife.  Officials say the balloons are very dangerous because animals can die from ingesting them or getting wrapped up in ribbons. A Facebook post on the Yakima Training Center page says worst of all Mylar balloons get caught in power lines and cause fires. Officials at the center urge you to reconsider any balloon release and think about another way to celebrate. They say balloons should deflated and thrown in the garbage and not released into the air where they cause all kinds of problems.
So while it's the birthday party season in the Yakima Valley you may want to think about other ways to have fun rather than releasing balloons into the air in the Yakima Valley.

According to CBS News the foil or Mylar balloons have cause 376 power outages in the state last year. The outages cut power to more than 179,000 homes and businesses.

CBS News says;

"In 2015, a mylar balloon struck a power line and sparked a blaze that burned 75 acres in California's Butte County. Two years earlier, a bouquet of metallic balloons drifted into transmission power lines in Tehama County, starting the Deer Fire, which burned more than 11,000 acres over several days.
Don't let go that balloon

"We realize many people are simply unaware of the dangers associated with releasing these foil balloons outdoors," Lisa Rouse, director of outage management at FirstEnergy, stated earlier this year.

The company blames mylar balloons for more than 200 power outages in 2018 and 2019 across its service area, which includes parts of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Mylar balloons should be flown indoors, or tethered with weights or securely tied if used outside, according to utility officials, who have issued public appeals in states from Connecticut to Texas. They and the Balloon Council, an industry trade group, also advise consumers to puncture and deflate the balloons before throwing them out."