08/29/2026
🎈 **WHY AREN’T THE BALLOONS FLYING?** 🎈
Hot air balloons are amazing to watch, but they also have some very specific safety needs. Here are a few things we’d love everyone to know:
🌅 **Why do balloons fly around sunrise and late afternoon?**
Balloons need **calm, stable air**. During the middle of the day, the sun heats the ground and creates rising warm air, gusts and turbulence. The calmer air around sunrise and near sunset usually gives pilots the safest conditions for takeoff, flight and landing.
🚭 **Why can’t you smoke around balloons?**
Hot air balloons use **propane** to fuel their burners. Propane is extremely flammable, and there may be fuel tanks, hoses and fuel operations around the balloon. **No smoking or open flames anywhere near the balloons, baskets, vehicles or inflation area.**
🚁 **Why are drones a problem?**
A drone and a balloon do **not** mix! Balloon pilots cannot quickly turn or maneuver away from a drone, and drone propellers can damage balloon fabric. Drones can also create a distraction during critical takeoffs and landings. **Please keep drones away from balloon operations.**
🌤️ **“But the weather looks perfect!”**
It might feel perfect standing on the ground and still be unsuitable for a balloon. Pilots are looking at much more than sunshine and temperature. We consider **surface winds, winds at different altitudes, gusts, wind direction, approaching weather, visibility, thunderstorms and atmospheric stability.**
Sometimes a beautiful sunny day is a **NO-GO**, while a cool, quiet morning is absolutely perfect.
🎈 **One last thing to remember:**
Balloons don't fly according to a clock or an event schedule — **we fly when Mother Nature gives us a safe opportunity.**
If the balloons aren't flying, there's a reason. Our pilots would much rather disappoint you on the ground than put anyone at unnecessary risk in the air.
**Come early, stay patient, enjoy the show, and remember: safety always comes first! 🎈**
