News Release

Oct. 2, 2008

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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT Cathy Garber Telephone: (505) 241-2811

PNM Reminds Crews, Spectators of Balloon Safety

Albuquerque: PNM officials have important safety advice for crews and onlookers during the nine days of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta: Don't touch a balloon that is touching power lines.

Touching a balloon wrapped in power lines could cause a chain reaction that injures both the person attempting to help as well as anybody within the balloon's gondola. Electricity seeks the nearest path to ground. This means an energized line that poses no danger to a balloon hanging on one wire could become deadly for everyone involved if a single onlooker touches the ground and the balloon at the same time.

“Safety is our primary concern,” said Jim Ferland, Senior Vice President, Utility Operations. “If a balloon does hit a power line, the best way to help is to call us as soon as it happens.” PNM asks that anyone who sees a balloon tangled in a power line call 911 and also PNM at (505) 344-7226 immediately.

Being prepared can help prevent injuries. During each morning's mass ascension, PNM has crews stationed near the fiesta grounds to answer balloonists’ questions and to respond to any incidents that may happen.

PNM takes several precautions during the Balloon Fiesta^® to reduce the risks associated with balloons taking off and landing near power lines. These include:

• Placing emergency response crews and the company’s outage response center on a heightened state of alert prior to and during scheduled balloon liftoffs;
• Positioning emergency response crews just outside Balloon Fiesta^® grounds to enable a quick response in the event of an incident on or near the field;
• Placing two trained coordinators on the field before every launch to answer pilots’ questions and give real-time information to the PNM outage response center on which direction balloons are traveling; and
• Placing a special brochure on power-line safety in every pilot’s briefing packet.

"Experienced balloon pilots should know how to handle power lines, but on-site support from PNM reinforces the safety message and helps increase the likelihood of an incident-free fiesta," said Event Director Pat Brake. "Safety is our most important priority during the next nine days."