Feb. 15, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Last year, metallic balloons caused about 450 outages in PG&E’s service area in Northern and central California, halting power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses, the utility reported.ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A Valentine's Day balloon filled with helium drifted into a power line Sunday, sparking an outage that temporarily plunged more than 2,300 Fresno households into the dark. Pacific Gas & Electric spokeswoman Karly Hernandez said that the outage began about 8 p.m. in an area east of Valentine Avenue, The Fresno Bee reported Monday. Most lights were back on an hour later but some residents were without power until midnight.