Chino Hills Residents Get Rude Awakening When Large Balloon Crashes In Their Neighborhood
CHINO HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Look up in the sky! it's a bird, it's a plane ...
That's not Superman either.
Residents of a usually-quiet Chino Hills neighborhood got a rude awakening Saturday when a large balloon crashed into their neighborhood.
No one on Rancho Hills Drive was injured but there were a lot of questions -- mainly who owned the balloon and where was it headed.
CBS2's Joy Benedict went in search of the answers.
"So we ran out and the police said don't go near it," said resident Janet Olafsson.
Part of the balloon landed on a tree in her yard.
"It must be 40-50 feet long," said one woman. "It's like a big giant plastic bag," said another.
Benedict said a lot of neighbors wanted to weigh in on exactly what they were seeing. Dozens of neighbors stopped by to gawk and take pictures.
At first, Olafsson thought the balloon was a kind gesture from a neighbor.
"We thought our neighbor was covering up our trees cause she was painting," she said.
Some guessed weather balloon. Others thought a satellite. One resident heard "it started in Las Vegas and it was on its way to Japan."
One resident Googled "weather balloons" to learn more about them.
Using Google, Benedict reports, is rather fitting .Turns out the company that company also owns the balloon -- called a "Loon Balloon."
According to the Google website, "Loons" don't study weather. Loons are in development to help study the feasibility of balloon-powered internet access worldwide.
And while Japan sounds rather adventurous -- and glamorous -- the balloon was actually supposed to land nearby, Benedict reported.
On Saturday evening, CBS2's Brittney Hopper said Goggle issued a statement.
"We coordinated with local air traffic control as we managed [the balloon's] slow descent. Sorry about the surprising start to a Saturday!"