Balloon fiesta grounds pilots a day after power line crashes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — High winds led Albuquerque balloon fiesta officials to ground pilots Monday, a day after two balloons hit power lines, sparking an explosion and knocking out electricity to hundreds of residents.
The explosion and outage occurred when the “Outlander” alien-themed balloon hit a line Sunday and knocked out power for about 1,200 residents.
Crews with the Public Service Co. of New Mexico had to cut the gondola from the balloon to rescue the pilot and passengers.
“I thought it was just going to go up in flames, but it didn’t. Thank God,” witness Allen Escobar told KOB-TV in Albuquerque (https://goo.gl/t3dQPs ).