Rising Concern : Hot-Air Balloons in Orange County Draw Criticism--and Notice of Police

With a roar of a burner, the rainbow-colored hot-air balloon rose from a grassy park recently and floated over Aliso Canyon, sending a deer scampering through the thick underbrush. The five passengers in the straw basket could see the blue-gray peaks of Saddleback Mountain to the east and the deepening blush of the sun setting over the ocean to the west.

The exhilaration and serenity of the flight ended abruptly 50 minutes later when the balloon landed with a slight bump in a vacant lot close to a new housing tract in Laguna Niguel.

A large group of the curious gathered to greet the balloon--joined by a sheriff’s patrol car and a sheriff’s helicopter circling overhead. “This is not good for business,” said a balloon crew member when a deputy started asking questions. Later, an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration would arrive with even more questions.

The arrival of hot-air ballooning in Orange County has been greeted by both interest and skepticism. But initial reactions of joy and awe have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the concerns of some homeowners, who fear that the balloons, which are up to nine stories tall and depend on the vagaries of the wind to set their course, may pose a hazard.

The FAA is investigating Sunset Balloon Flights Inc. in response to various complaints, including allegations that its balloons are flying low enough over populated areas to intrude on privacy, distract motorists and possibly crash into homes or utility lines.

And on Monday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department referred to the district attorney cases involving possible charges of obstruction of a public road (when a balloon landed on it) and illegal entry through a blocked road (when a vehicle chased after a balloon attempting to retrieve it).

Concern over the balloon pilots’ ability to prudently choose their landing spots intensified over the Labor Day weekend when the balloons made a rash of unscheduled landings--in a public street, inside a gated community and on a junior high school football field.

There have been other surprise landings.

A priest at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel recently accommodated a pilot who shouted from the sky a request to land his balloon in the church parking lot.

And less tolerant security guards at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo yelled through bullhorns to try to prevent a pilot from landing a balloon on campus. When that failed, they called the Sheriff’s Department.

At the center of the growing controversy is Frank Reed of Sunset Balloon Flights, a 48-year-old balloonist with a license to take paying customers on excursions. After operating a similar business for more than three years in Del Mar, Reed became the first to launch such a commercial enterprise in south Orange County last May.

Reed said balloon operators in the past hesitated to venture into Orange County because they feared they would interfere with flights out of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. But he said he studied FAA maps and discovered that balloons could operate at altitudes up to 2,500 feet in Dana Point and 1,500 feet in Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel.

“Orange County is an excellent area for ballooning,” he said. “There are real pretty views, mild winds and people with a lot of disposable income”--an important consideration, since he charges $165 for a balloon ride, with an introductory charge of $145.

Ballooning has become very popular among tourists and Orange County residents looking for a lark or a fun way to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

Capt. Doug Storm of the Sheriff’s Department said he has nothing against the sport of ballooning. “It would be a viable business if he (Reed) does it right and addresses everybody’s concerns,” he said.

Storm has asked Reed to obtain written agreements with owners of the properties where he launches or lands his balloons.

It is Reed’s opinion--contested by Storm--that it is legal for his six pilots to land on any vacant parcel as long there are no posted signs warning against trespassing, the owner does not object and nothing is damaged.

Nonetheless, Reed has begun negotiating with landowners and taking steps to obtain any required city permits and business licenses.

But Reed admits that even after careful study of South Orange County’s terrain and wind currents, he never knows for sure where a balloon will land. “That is part of the romance and adventure of it,” he said.