Milwaukee,
53226
Wisconsin,
United States
Large power outage in the village of Wauwatosa on Thursday night The outage hit more than 4,000 customers and shut down bars and restaurants across much of Wauwatosa,
WAUWATOSA, Wis. — A metallic foil balloon sparked a large power outage in the village of Wauwatosa on Thursday night, costing some business owners.
It happened near 92nd Street and Hawthorne Avenue.
The balloons, often bought for celebrations, can cause serious damage if they come in contact with power lines, and that's exactly what happened, causing some major problems several miles away from there.
When the power went out at Cosmos Cafe on North Avenue Thursday, no one could figure out why.
"If there's something they're trying to do for maintenance, they warn you, you know? But yesterday, there was no warning," Cosmos Café owner Theo Tselentis said.
The outage hit more than 4,000 customers and shut down bars and restaurants across much of Wauwatosa, like Ono Kine Grindz, at the worst possible time.
It was right at dinner time too so, not good," Ono Kine Grindz owner Guy Roeseler said.
WISN 12 News has learned the cause of all that damage was a single party balloon.
"A mylar balloon contacted the top phase of that outside circuit," We Energies senior operations supervisor Mike Krawchyk said.
"And that one balloon took them all out?" WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott asked.
"That one balloon did take them all out. Yes, sir," Krawchyk said.
Krawchyk explained that a metallic or mylar balloon burned down the power line, which fell and took out two other feeder lines.
When a metallic balloon contacts a live power line, (it) "causes sparks, fire and eventually can burn the line down," Krawchyk said.
No one was hurt. The power was restored in about two hours, but a utility spokesman said it could have been much worse.
"That line came down. If that happens in a neighborhood, and that line is energized, you now have a downed wire on the ground that really can cause some damage," Brendan Conway said. "It's like sticking a fork into an outlet. You don't want to do something like that. It's the same principle. You don't want to get metal near power line."
Last year alone, We Energies reported 26 instances of balloons causing power outages, and this is just the latest of several cases this year.
"That's very scary if our grid can be taken down by a mylar balloon," Roeseler said.
Some businesses told WISN 12 News they couldn't get their computer systems back up and running and had to shut down for the rest of the day all because of one stray balloon.
We Energies encourages people, when they're done using those mylar balloons, to puncture them and dispose of them. Don't let them fly away.
Source:
www.wisn.com
Source publication date: 2021 10 01
