Sky lanterns, now banned in Md., illuminate winter celebrations
Sky lanterns, essentially small paper hot air balloons, have grown in popularity recently after being used and made in Asia for years. In some festivals, hundreds of balloons float in the air, illuminating the night sky.
That won’t be the case in Maryland. Responding to increased use of the balloons, Maryland’s fire marshal has explicitly banned sky lanterns, citing their ability to start fires.
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- Local residents release sky lanterns in Pingshi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on the fifth day of the lunar new year on February 14, 2013. At least 600 couples celebrated their Valentine’s Day via releasing sky lanterns. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Local residents release a heart-shaped sky lantern in Pingshi, New Taipei City, Taiwan on the fifth day of the lunar new year on February 14, 2013. At least 600 couples celebrated their Valentine’s Day by releasing sky lanterns. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Local residents release sky lanterns in Pingshi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on the fifth day of the lunar new year on February 14, 2013. At least 600 couples celebrated their Valentine’s Day via releasing sky lanterns. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A woman looks at the models of sky lanterns in Pingshi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on the fifth day of the lunar new year on February 14, 2013. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Local residents release sky lanterns during a celebration of Valentine’s Day in Grodno, Belarus, some 185 miles west of the capital Minsk on February 14, 2013. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Local residents release sky lanterns during a celebration of Valentine’s Day in Grodno, Belarus, some 185 miles west of the capital Minsk on February 14, 2013. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Participants launch sky lanterns during an event in Puebla, near Mexico City, on December 16, 2012. Organizers hope to break a Guinness world record by launching 16,000 lanterns, all of which were made by people with disabilities, according to local authorities. (Imelda Medina/Reuters)
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- A snake-shaped sculpture made from about 850 yellow sky lanterns looms over a road in Chinatown on February 9, 2013 in Singapore. Thousands gathered to celebrate welcome the the Year of the Snake, (Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
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- Buddhist monks release paper lanterns into the sky in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, on January 9, 2013. The lanterns were released during a traditional pilgrimage to pay homage to Lord Buddha and bless Thailand as it enters the new year. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
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- Buddhist monks release paper lanterns into the sky in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, on January 9, 2013. The lanterns were released during a traditional pilgrimage to pay homage to Lord Buddha and bless Thailand as it enters the new year. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
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- A Buddhist monk prays as he looks at paper lanterns into the sky in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, on January 9, 2013. The lanterns were released during a traditional pilgrimage to pay homage to Lord Buddha and bless Thailand as it enters the new year. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
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- Indian volunteers of a social organization release sky lanterns to promote a peaceful and eco-friendly Diwali, and create awareness against child labor in the firecracker industry during a function in Kolkata on November 9, 2012. The Diwali the Festival of Lights marks the victory over evil and commemorates the time when the Hindu god Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana and returned to his kingdom Ayodhya. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
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- People light a sky lantern in St. Petersburg late on February 9, 2013 during celebrations marking the start of the Chinese lunar new year and year of the snake on February 10. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
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- People light a sky lantern in St. Petersburg late on February 9, 2013 during celebrations marking the start of the Chinese lunar new year and year of the snake on February 10. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A girl smiles as Croatians gather in front of a museum in Zagreb to participate in an initiative by local artist Kresimir Tadija Kapulic (unseen) to release sky lanterns with people’s Christmas and New Year’s wishes, on December 20, 2012. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Croatians gather in front of a museum to participate in an initiative by local artist Kresimir Tadija Kapulic (unseen) to release sky lanterns with people’s Christmas and New Year’s wishes, on December 20, 2012. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Croatians gather in front of a museum to participate in an initiative by local artist Kresimir Tadija Kapulic (unseen) to release sky lanterns with people’s Christmas and New Year’s wishes, on December 20, 2012. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
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- People release a lantern into the sky as they celebrate the New Year at the Red Square in Moscow, early on January 1, 2013. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the Red Square to celebrate the New Year at midnight. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
Md. fire marshal bans sky lanterns
By Jean Marbella, The Baltimore Sun
February 15, 2013
Maryland’s Fire Marshall has banned sky lanterns, the increasingly popular paper balloons that are sent aloft by the heat of a candle or fuel cell suspended from the bottom.
“They’re made with oiled rice paper and bamboo — it’s almost kindling,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Bruce D. Bouch. “They have to land somewhere, and sometimes they’re still partly on fire when they hit the ground. They’ve been known to ignite dry vegetation.”
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lorem
May 26, 2013 @ 18:48:20
Next thing they will ban is bic lighters because using them makes fire i think the fire marshel should get a job with the civil liberies org there all wingnuts tooo
Oola
Feb 18, 2013 @ 07:55:05
I like these things, but they scare me. They’re flying fire.