Hawaiian Electric Co. said Tuesday that power failures caused by metallic balloons are on the rise.
HECO urged “the public to hang onto and secure their celebratory balloons,” as metallic balloons caught in power lines have caused 21 outages in 2016 on Oahu.
Since 2008 there has been an average of 17 metallic balloon outages each year, with a high of 26 in 2013.
“When metallic balloons get loose and float into overhead power lines, they can cause a short circuit and can knock out power to an entire neighborhood,” HECO said in a statement.
The most recent incident was on Sunday, when a metallic balloon got entangled in power lines on Waialae Avenue near St. Louis Drive-In. More than 1,200 customers in the Waialae and St. Louis Heights areas lost power, HECO said.
HECO said to avoid outages caused by stray balloons, Oahu residents should make sure balloons are securely tied, add a weight to the end of the string or ribbon attached to a balloon, never release balloons into the sky, and deflate balloons after use.
HECO said anyone who spots a balloon tangled in a power line should not try to free it, but should call 855-304-1212.
ON THE MOVE
Embassy Suites by Hilton-Waikiki Beach Walk has named Sheryl Tsugawa the new assistant general manager. She was previously an assistant general manager of Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort as well as director of sales at the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort, where she was awarded InterContinental Hotel Group’s Best of the Best in 2013.
Honolulu Community Action Program has announced the following promotions within its Head Start program: Jason Takimoto as Head Start education program manager; he was a Head Start teacher since 2015 and served as an early childhood education teacher since 2008. Melissa Grado, Sammi Rafael and Allison Yokoyama are Head Start site supervisors; Grado and Rafael recently served as Head Start teachers, and Yokoyama as a Head Start special educator.
