More than a thousand Hope-area residents might have found it easy to oversleep Friday morning — all because of a balloon.
Crews for Duke Energy report that a helium-filled Mylar balloon, a popular choice for birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations, was the cause of a power outage that knocked out electricity to more than 600 homes and businesses in the northeast Bartholomew County community, Duke Energy spokesman Chip Orbin said.
The balloon knocked out electricity to more than 1,000 customers of Bartholomew County REMC, utility spokeswoman Marty Lasure said.
Instead of being made from one material such as latex, Mylar balloons have an interior much like nylon, while the exterior features a thin layer of aluminum foil. When one of these helium-filled balloons got into electrical equipment, it caused havoc by tripping a number of electrical fuses that resulted in the outage, Orbin said.
The first notices of the problem were sent out to Duke customers at 3:12 a.m. Friday morning. Their electricity was restored shortly after 6 a.m., Orbin said.
Bartholomew County REMC expected to have its customers with power around 9 a.m. Friday.
