Mylar balloons collide with California power line, spark explosion

July 19 (UPI) -- A caught-on-camera explosion caused by Mylar balloons colliding with a power line led to an hours-long power outage in a California city.

A video recorded Tuesday in Long Beach shows a pair of Mylar balloons collide with a power line in the neighborhood around Broadway and Redondo Street.

The resulting explosion caused power in the neighborhood to be knocked out for hours while Southern California Edison crews worked to repair the damage.

The utility previously issued a warning about the dangers of Mylar balloons striking power lines when 5,000 customers lost power in an incident involving a bundle of Valentine's Day balloons in 2016.

"Metallic balloons look harmless, but there's no way to overstate how dangerous they can be when released outside," Paul Jeske, SoCal Edison's director of corporate health and safety, said in a statement at the time.