Bill would ban sky lanterns

LANSING — A southeastern Michigan state rep wants to ban sky lanterns — those rice paper orbs lit by a candle and sent aloftlike miniature, sans-pilot hot-air balloons — because they're impossible to control and can cause fires.

State Rep. Henry Yanez, D-Sterling Heights, a former firefighter, said in a statement Thursday he'd introduced House Bill 4857 to ban the devices that have become increasingly popular at memorials, fairs and around the Fourth of July.

"As a former Sterling Heights firefighter, I know that there is no safe way to use a sky lantern because you can't control where it lands, so it could land on someone's roof or in a yard and cause a fire," Yanez said in a statement.

That has happened. The National Association of State Fire Marshals came out against the devices two years ago, citing a sky lantern that landed at a plastic recycling plant and caused $9 million in damage. Yanez noted some municipalities, such as Sterling Heights, have ordinances banning the devices, but said "sky lanterns do not recognize city borders."