Lake Tapps residents got a giant surprise Saturday night when a hot air balloon landed right on their street.

Lake Tapps residents got a giant surprise Saturday night when a hot air balloon landed right on their street.

Steve Anselmi and his wife were in their living room watching TV when something peculiar suddenly caught their eye.

"She says, 'Steve, look, look!'...All of a sudden, (our window) was filled with colors of the balloon," said Anselmi. "We run outside and there's this balloon coming over our house, and it lands in our street."

"I couldn't believe there was this balloon coming flying over our house. It was literally 20 feet above our house. It was incredible."

Anselmi said nearly half the neighborhood along 214th Ave. E and 63rd St. E came out to watch the spectacle. Neighbors helped ensure there were no entanglements as the balloon touched down.

"Everybody's out filming, taking pictures. All the kids are freaking out, going nuts," said Anselmi.

Once safely on the ground, four passengers got out. The pilot quickly deflated the balloon, folded it up, packed it into a basket and carted it away on the company's chase truck, which was following it. No one was injured in the process.

"About a half an hour, 45 minutes. They were quick," he said.

Seattle Ballooning owns the hot air balloon from Saturday's surprise landing. Owner and chief pilot Eliav Cohen tells KING 5 they launched two balloons from the top of Auburn Valley and flew for just over an hour.

Cohen says they flew 2,000-feet over the White River Ampitheater, where Rod Stewart was performing. Then they crossed over Lake Tapps and headed south. He explained that hot air balloons use wind at different levels to control the direction of flight.

The FAA requires balloons to land before sunset. When the air near Lake Tapps became stagnant, Cohen says he scouted for a safe spot to set down.

With 7 minutes before sundown, Cohen says he lined up the balloon and made a textbook landing on the street, much to the delight of the neighbor kids.

"On pack up, we had 15 kids from the neighborhood help us with the balloon. As a commercial balloonist, I feel it is my job to inspire kids who will be the future of ballooning," Cohen said.