Balloon revealed as culprit behend outage that affected 1300+ customers in Indio & Bermuda Dunes
Imperial Irrigation District revealed the cause of an outage that left over 1,300 customers in Indio and Bermuda Dunes without power for about an hour.
That culprit? Some Mylar balloons.
The balloon-caused outage started at around 5:43 p.m. 1,308 customers were left without power.
POWER OUTAGE: We are currently experiencing a power outage in INDIO & BERMUDA DUNES affecting 1308 customers. Troubleshooter en route. We will update you as we know more information.
— IID (@IIDatWork) February 18, 2021
Power was restored at around 6:50 p.m.
IID sent out a tweet to remind residents to tie and weigh down balloons and keep them away from power lines.
Mylar balloons, which can stay inflated for two weeks or more, are a
frequent cause of power outages. Their metallic coating conducts electricity
and can cause a short-circuit or power surge when they come in contact with power lines, which can lead to large-scale outages, melting of electrical wires and fires.
Stay with News Channel 3 for updates.
