Balloon mishap on Dilworth

Photo: Contributed - Dave Parr

Residents of Kelowna's Dilworth Mountain got a surprise Saturday morning when a hot-air balloon landed on a city street, only metres away from homes.

Dave Parr says he heard a loud hissing sound coming outside his house about 7:45 a.m.

"It sounded like it was directly over our house. It reminded me of the fire-breathing dragons from the TV series Game of Thrones.

"I finally found my camera and, by the time I got outside, the object making the noise was in fact a fire-breathing hot-air balloon. It was a few doors down from our place, and it seemed to be having trouble gaining altitude and was heading for the west-facing cliff wall of Dilworth Mountain."

Parr says after numerous attempts to gain sufficient altitude, the pilot safely landed the balloon in the middle of Denali Drive, about 40 feet from Summit Drive.

"we were very surprised to see how low the balloon was and how close he came to the houses. Fortunately, the wind was a very gentle breeze so (the pilot) had time to consider how he was going to solve his problem." 

Cars in both directions of Denali Drive had to wait until the ground chase crew was able to remove the balloon. 

"No one appeared to have been injured, and the pilot was successful in not damaging private property or the balloon," says Parr.

"Never, at any time, even when they were directly over our house, did we hear anyone yelling or screaming, etc. Everything seem very calm. I'm sure those on board were hanging on and hoping for the best (though)."