Chinese Sky Lantern

I was driving around our cabin property and noticed this bright red object in our field of dry grass. This object wasn't in the field the day before so I investigated and discovered it was a Chinese Sky Lantern. These Chinese Sky Lanterns use a small very hot heat source to inflate and lift a lightweight paper balloon. I didn't find the heat source but one side of the balloon had a large burn hole.

While these sky lanterns may look very nice when launched at night, they also run the risk of starting fires if a smoldering balloon or heat source lands in combustible material, such as a field of dry grass. It is safer, but not foolproof, to launch these sky lanterns when the ground is covered with snow or green foliage but they should never be launched in the fall or spring when the risk of fire is high. Since these sky lanterns can drift for miles from the launch site, the person launching the sky lantern may not be aware of starting fires in isolated areas.