Crews were working Friday to restore electricity to more than 6,000 customers in Santa Cruz after a metallic balloon became tangled in power equipment.

Mayra Tostado, a spokesperson with Pacific Gas & Electric, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that crews were working diligently to turn the lights back on by Friday afternoon after power went out around 9 a.m. Friday.

Tostado said in an email that PG&E was seeing an increase in outages caused by metallic balloons on the Central California Coast.

Balloons are popular for graduations but should be tied securely.

Posted by Jeff Lemucchi – Jun 18 08:10