ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A hot air balloon bumped a power transmission line, causing outages that impacted around 13,000 PNM customers Monday morning in Albuquerque.

The incident happened near Claremont Avenue and Stanford Drive. The balloon later landed behind the Stripes Burrito Co. on Menaul Boulevard, just a few blocks away from University Boulevard.

Balloon Fiesta officials identified the pilot as Gary Odom, of Valparaiso, Florida. They said Odom was flying alone in his Master Blaster balloon and was not injured in the incident.

The incident caused around 17 outages, affecting around 12,730 customers, according to PNM’s outage map. A spokesperson said the outage was so large because the transmission line sends power to substations and the secondary lines.

The outages extended along Second Street, as far north as Osuna Road and as far south as Mountain Road – and as far east as Carlisle Boulevard and as far west as Montaño and the Rio Grande. By midday, PNM restored power to everyone in the affected areas.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this during Balloon Fiesta. In 2021, the Devil balloon hit power lines with three people on-board. Neighbors, including someone who worked for PNM, stepped in to help those on-board during that incident.

During the 2004 Balloon Fiesta, Smokey Bear made national headlines after crashing into a radio tower on the last day of Fiesta. Three passengers – two boys and the pilot – dangled nearly 700 feet above ground before climbing down the tower.