Now, I ain’t saying the good people of Nevada ought to tether their dreams to the ground–but should your notion of celebration involve launching balloons skyward like miniature Hindenburgs, you might turn out the lights on 10,000 of your closest neighbors. It’s precisely what happened on Sunday, March 2, when a floating bit of merriment went rogue and knocked the juice out of downtown Las Vegas for over an hour.
The culprit? Not a saboteur or cosmic reckoning, but a plain ol’ balloon—according to one Mr. Anthony Ruiz, who holds the noble title of government relations manager at NV Energy, who delivered this revelation before the Nevada Legislature, with a straight face and tie neatly knotted.
Mr. Ruiz informed the lawmakers, “Just in the past five years alone, balloon-related incidents have caused over 400 outages impacting hundreds of thousands of customers.”
He said those outages hit some 600,000 folks in the wallet, the dark, or both. His figures ain’t independently verifiable and may, like a good fishing tale, grow with every telling.
Not content to pick on just the shiny foil kind, Ruiz turned his ire upon the rubber balloon, too—saying these can melt themselves into power lines like a marshmallow at a bonfire, leaving linemen to scrape and pry with tools better suited for Frankenstein’s laboratory.
Democratic Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, with a face as serious as a hanging judge, called balloons a widespread safety hazard, pointing out that “When released, balloons frequently end up as litter in waterways or natural habitats where they harm wildlife and contribute to microplastic pollution.”
She added mylar balloons are particularly troublesome—they neither rot nor repent–and when they hit a wire, they throw sparks like the Fourth of July.
Her bill, Assembly Bill 194, proposes to slap a $250 fine on those caught releasing balloons into the sky. If your child lets one go on their birthday, you probably won’t find yourselves in irons.
“The goal of the bill isn’t to like find people and fine them,” Jauregui explained. “It’s more about prevention… about getting the education out there.”
I do hope the balloons are listening.
For the curious reader with an airship in the barn, fear not–hot-air balloons, weather balloons, and science experiments remain spared under the law. Likewise, the humble indoor release still enjoys liberty, floating harmlessly toward ceilings and chandeliers.
This bill rides tandem with last year’s AB321, which begins phasing in balloon restrictions by 2027, going full throttle by 2030. The law threatens a $50 fine per Mylar balloon, up to $2,500—a price that may inspire more folks to send their sentiments via email.
In conclusion, dear reader, if you must send your love into the sky, perhaps consider a prayer or a pigeon–at least they don’t trip the grid.
The Old Blog in the Desert 