Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: sky lantern

Wildfire south of Kelowna, BC likely started by sky lantern

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , ,
Peachland, British Columbia sky lantern
Wildfire near a home in Peachland, British Columbia on March 16, 2021 likely started by a sky lantern. Photo by Kevin Tameling.

A flaming object that fell from the sky ignited a fire 10 to 15 feet from a home  in Peachland, British Columbia on March 16. Firefighters responded quickly and suppressed the blaze, but after it had burned part of a homeowner’s deck and singed the siding.

Initially some residents thought it was space debris or a meteorite, but video indicates it was most likely a sky lantern.

At seven seconds in the video below several bright objects separate from a single bright object. Most of the new objects disappear but the largest is seen falling to the ground over the next 29 seconds.

This is consistent with what happens when the paper hot air balloon above a a sky lantern is ignited by the flames underneath. Depending on the altitude parts of the paper can burn completely or partially before they hit the ground, and the candle or burning oil may continue to burn as it falls, then possibly igniting any receptive fuel on the ground.

These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight. Numerous fires have been started on the ground by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock

Sky lanterns are illegal in at least 30 states.

On December 31, 2019, New Years Eve, a sky lantern caused a fire in a zoo in Western Germany that killed more than 30 animals, including apes, monkeys, bats, and birds, authorities said.

In March of 2019 a sky lantern landing on the roof was the most likely cause of a fire that resulted in about $40,000 in damage to a business in Burlington, Vermont.

In October, 2018 surveillance camera footage in Goyang, Korea showed a sky lantern starting a fire in grass that spread to and destroyed a tank holding 2.66 million liters of gasoline, enough to fill 250 tank trucks.

In September, 2018 a sky lantern was suspected of causing a power outage on a railroad in Hong Kong, causing four trains to be disrupted for 25 minutes until repairs were made.

Here are a few other examples of damage from sky lanterns: a warehouse in the Philippines, an Olympic venue in Rio, 15 people injured and 4 homes destroyed in India, 4 homes and a boat dock in Michigan, a four-plex structure in California, and six million British pounds worth of damage to a recycling facility in England.

Sky Lantern poster
Volunteer Wildfire Service, South Africa.

Fire possibly caused by sky lantern kills 30 animals in zoo

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on Fire possibly caused by sky lantern kills 30 animals in zoo

Among the dead are orangutans, gorillas, a chimpanzee and several monkeys

Krefeld Zoom fire sky lantern
Krefeld Zoo. Photo by Alexander Forstreuter

From Meaww.com:

BERLIN: A fire at a zoo in western Germany in the first minutes of 2020 killed more than 30 animals, including apes, monkeys, bats and birds, authorities said. Police said the fire may have been caused by sky lanterns launched to celebrate the new year.

Several witnesses reported that they had seen the cylindrical paper lanterns with little fires inside flying in the night sky shortly after midnight Wednesday near the Krefeld zoo, Gerd Hoppmann, the city’s head of criminal police told reporters.

“People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitude near the zoo and then it started burning,” Hoppmann said.
Police and firefighters received the first emergency calls at 12:38 a.m.

The zoo near the Dutch border said that the entire ape house burned down and more than 30 animals, including five orangutans, two gorillas, a chimpanzee and several monkeys, as well as fruit bats and birds, were killed.

Only two chimpanzees could be rescued from the flames by firefighters. They suffered burns but are in stable condition, zoo director Wolfgang Dressen said.

Wildfire Today has published many articles about fires caused by sky lanterns. These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight or it can get blown down to the ground or on the roof of a structure by the wind. Numerous fires have been started by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.

UPDATE January 2, 2020. From NBCDFW:  “Three women are under investigation in Germany for launching paper sky lanterns for the new year which apparently ignited a devastating fire that killed more than 30 animals at a zoo, officials said Thursday.”

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Robert. Typos or errors, report them HERE.

Sky lantern probable cause of fire at Vermont brewery

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,
sky lantern fire roof structure burlington vermont
The fire department extinguished a fire on the roof of the Zero Gravity brewery in Burlington, Vermont Tuesday. Screengrab from WCAX video.

A sky lantern landing on the roof is the most likely cause of a fire that resulted in about $40,000 in damage to a business in Burlington, Vermont early Tuesday morning.

The Burlington Free Press reported that the fire department responded at 3:15 a.m. to the fire on the roof of the Zero Gravity brewery.

The fire is still under investigation but the fire department wrote in a report, “the most probable cause was identified as a ‘sky lantern’ landing on the roof of the building and igniting the roof.”

Officials said there were multiple reports of sky lanterns with open flames being launched earlier that night from Callahan Park.

Sky lanterns are prohibited in the City of Burlington, but there is no state law in Vermont regulating them.

These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight or it can get blown down to the ground or on the roof of a structure by the wind. Numerous fires have been started by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.

Burning sky lantern lands on Oklahoma man’s home

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 1 Comment on Burning sky lantern lands on Oklahoma man’s home
sky lantern
Screengrab from Fox61 video below.

As a man in Moore, Oklahoma pulled into his driveway he saw a burning sky lantern on the roof of his house. He was able to get it off the roof before the house caught fire, but was not pleased someone’s irresponsible act almost destroyed his home.

These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight. Numerous fires have been started by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.

Police say sky lantern caused fire and explosion at oil storage facility

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

A large tank holding gasoline exploded in Goyang, Korea.

sky lantern fire
A police spokesperson speaks during a press conference Tuesday. Another officer is holding a sky lantern that police believe caused a fire at an oil storage facility. (Yonhap)

Police detained a man in Goyang, Korea Monday for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed a tank holding 2.66 million liters of gasoline, enough to fill 250 tank trucks.

“Surveillance camera footage showed the fire started after the lantern landed on the grass,” a police official said. “We questioned people living around the area and confirmed the man launched the sky lantern.”

The police believe the sky lantern may have started the fire when it fell on the lawn of the oil storage facility, causing flames that later spread into the ventilation system of the oil tank, causing the explosion.

These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight. Numerous fires have been started by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.

Power outage hits Hong Kong trains, sky lantern seen as culprit

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,
Sky lantern
Sky lantern release in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo by Takeaway.

A sky lantern is suspected of causing a power outage on a railroad in Hong Kong, causing four trains to be disrupted for 25 minutes until repairs were made.

Below is an excerpt from an article at ejinsight.com:

Passengers aboard the trains were forced to wait in the cars before services gradually resumed about 25 minutes later after repairs were carried out.

MTR personnel investigating the incident found the remains of a sky lantern on top of one of the trains, although the railway operator did not confirm whether it had triggered the power failure, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported.

Earlier that day, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) reminded the public that it is an offense to fly sky lanterns.

Under the law, people who fly sky lanterns could face a maximum fine of HK$2,000 and up to 14 days of imprisonment.

These dangerous devices use burning material to loft a small paper or plastic hot air balloon into the air. The perpetrator has no control over where it lands. Usually the fire goes out before it hits the ground, but not always. Sometimes the envelope catches fire while in flight. Numerous fires have been started by sky lanterns. Even if they don’t ignite a fire, they leave litter on the ground. Metal parts have been picked up by hay balers causing serious problems when fed to livestock. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.