forget katrina, here's the next major disaster

The Shreveport Times reports that Louisianians continue to be baffled by plastic and helium:

Balloons cause power outage in downtown Houma

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • MARCH 17, 2010

HOUMA — Balloons tangled in an electrical substation caused much of downtown Houma to lose power.

The bundle of balloons floated into the substation late Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Bourg, parish utilities director, says a large section of downtown lost power.

Traffic signals turned off and drivers used most intersections as four-way stops.

Bourg said the balloons apparently floated into the substation and became stuck, leading to the outage. Power was out for about 10 minutes.