Tag: sky lantern

In the United States July 4 is a holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. For many people it involves fireworks which can be beautiful when conducted by professionals at an organized event, but can be dangerous in the hands of those buying them at tents set up on the side if the road, causing injuries and starting fires.

An especially hazardous device that can be classified as fireworks are sky lanterns. The Jefferson City, Missouri Times Tribune has an editorial, warning about the dangers of fireworks. Below is an excerpt:

…Sky lanterns are another concern. Like other fireworks, they’re illegal to release inside the city limits. However, that hasn’t stopped some people from using the pretty-but-potentially-dangerous items.

Once a sky lantern is lit, the hot air lifts it into the air.

The flaming lantern can travel more than a mile from its starting point.

Wind can affect the sky lantern, blowing the sides, forcing the hot air out and sending it back to the ground, while still burning. A flaming lantern can drop onto a rooftop, field, trees or power lines before the flame is fully extinguished. A destructive fire can result when a flaming lantern reaches the ground during dry conditions.

Obviously, sky lanterns are potential fire hazards beyond other fireworks.

We urge you to avoid them, and to follow the fireworks laws in general.

Too often sky lanterns get caught on trees, roofs, cell phone towers, or land on the ground when the flames are still active and ignite damaging fires. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries.

A sky lantern caused burn injuries to 15 people when one of the dangerous devices landed on a shop in the Indian state of West Bengal. The fire spread to four kutcha houses, gutting them, and injured 13 adults and two children who were all admitted to Tamluk hospital.

Police said six people, including the two children, were in serious condition.

Sky lanterns, also known as Chinese lanterns, are plastic or paper bags lofted by the heat created by burning fuel at the bottom. After they are launched the perpetrator has no control and the dangerous devices are carried wherever the wind blows. Too often they get caught on trees, roofs, cell phone towers, or land on the ground when the flames are still active and start damaging fires. They are banned in most U.S. states and many countries, including Brazil.

A rancher in the United Kingdom is blaming the death of one of his cows on a sky lantern that landed on his property. These devices are small hot air balloons lofted into the air by fuel burning at the base.

Below is an excerpt from an article at Farmers Weekly:

…Last year, David Rowlands of Grange Farm, Mickle Trifford, Chester, experienced the problems of sky lanterns first hand. The Rowlands family lost one of their pedigree Red Poll breeding cows to a sky lantern around bonfire night.

“She started staggering, so we treated her for staggers, but obviously it had no effect.

“The vets assessment was that the oesophagus had been pierced by wire from one of these wretched things, leading to asphyxiation,” Mr Rowlands explained.

“These sky lanterns have either wire or bamboo frames and essentially they’re cannon balls floating.

“Eventually they land and if they land in a field with cattle grazing, the cattle will investigate.

“The animals are inclined to chew things like this, the wire will splinter, penetrating their throats and causing swelling. It leads to asphyxiation, a horrible death taking about 48 hours.”

“How an animal-loving nation can tolerate this sort of risk to cattle and sheep baffles me,” he toldFarmers Weekly.

But Mr Rowlands hopes if more councils ban them it will help as he says he doesn’t think it is deliberate nastiness of the people releasing them, more that they simply don’t understand the risks.

“Our cows don’t think they are worth the risk,” he said…

Sky lanterns are banned in 39 of the states in the U.S.