If you have never heard of “sky candles” they are devices that use a small open-flame object or another device to cause a paper or plastic balloon to inflate and rise. When my husband passed I had everyone light a sky candle and release it at the cemetery. Regrettably, I did not think about the changing winds and where this device could land.
As it so happened, one of the sky candles landed in a tree next to the chemical recycling plant and began to burn. Later I found out that my incident is not alone as many sky lanterns have caused destruction after release including a sky lantern released in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that ended up burning 800 acres.
PA HB 93 proposes that we follow the recommendation of the National Association of State Fire Marshals and adhere to the International Fire Code and ban the release of sky lanterns into Pennsylvania’s airspace.
For more information go to: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2021&body=H&type=B&bn=93