Mylar balloon leads to power outage affecting 1,500 customers in West Milwaukee

WEST MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- We Energies officials were tending to a power outage that affected 1,500 people in West Milwaukee Tuesday evening, July 15th.

A We Energies spokesman tells FOX6 News the power outage occurred just after 7:45 p.m. when a mylar balloon ran into a power line -- causing the circuit to short out and the wire to go down.

The wire fell in an alley between 63rd Street and 64th Street and National Avenue.

The borders of this outage were Mitchell Street to the north, Lincoln Avenue to the south, 44th Street to the east and 55th Street to the west.

A We Energies spokesman says a power outage caused by a mylar balloon isn't unusual, but he says this type of outage usually happens in wide open areas where the balloons are released and end up drifting into power lines.

We Energies crews were able to resolve this power outage by about 9:45 p.m.

CLICK HERE to view the We Energies Outage Map.