Balloons hit power lines, trigger explosion in California neighborhood

An explosion resulting from Mylar balloons making contact with power lines was caught on video in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday.

The neighborhood where the explosion took place lost power for several hours, according to the Long Beach Local News.

Shanelle Carter, co-owner of Taysha Florist, prepares mylar balloons for a customer in her family's shop in Albany on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Shanelle Carter, co-owner of Taysha Florist, prepares mylar balloons for a customer in her family's shop in Albany on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011. Photo: PHILIP KAMRASS Photo: PHILIP KAMRASS Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Balloons hit power lines, trigger explosion in California neighborhood 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Los Angeles officials warned the public about the dangers of Mylar balloons and power lines after an incident in Feb. 2016 left 500 people without power. Mylar balloons and other metallic balloons are conductors of electricity and pose a significant threat to power lines if released into the air.

According to Southern California Edison, metallic balloons caused 942 Southern California power outages in 2016.

"The safest metallic balloon is one that is kept indoors or tied down by a weight or something else sturdy outdoors," Andrew Martinez, Southern California Edison vice president of Safety, Security & Business Resiliency said in a May press release. "Stores and vendors should only sell properly weighted balloons, and buyers should never remove that weight or release balloons outdoors."