I just founded out something strange the other day that caught me way off guard. I went into Party City to get a 'welcome home' balloon for my boyfriend who was coming back to Los Angeles after being in the east coast for over a week. n
After I picked out the balloon I wanted, the first thing the employee told me was that they couldn't fill it up with helium so it wouldn't float. Apparently in February a law was passed in the city of Burbank prohibiting the sale of mylar balloons with helium or gas. So the most she could do was fill it up with regular air. I was shocked. She said it was only in Burbank that this is a thing, and that if I wanted my balloon to float I would have to go to another location nearby.
According to My Burbank, mylar balloons are a safety hazard when they come in contact or come close to power lines.
“Mylar balloons are fun, but over the years they have caused hundreds of power outages in Burbank,” says Jeannine Edwards, Assistant General Manager of Sustainability, Marketing, and Strategy at Burbank Water and Power (BWP), according to My Burbank. “Our goal is to work with the community to help prevent power outages caused by mylar balloons. If you must have balloons filled with helium, you can always use latex balloons, those that don’t conduct electricity. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing all of the creative ways our community will use mylar balloons filled with air.”