NEW ORLEANS — Paper streamers were blowing in the wind Monday at St. Charles Avenue and Milan Street, less than a day after they were blamed for knocking out the power.
According to NOLA Ready, paper streamers shot from a float in the Krewe of Thoth landed on a transformer.
“Heard a loud boom, a puff of smoke, and then realized a cable from this powerline to that pole was dangling on the ground,” said Hayden Burkert.
Burkert’s family property on St. Charles lost power. He was upfront on the parade route when it happened.
“Two policemen were there instantly,” said Burkert. “They kind of started clearing people out. We walked away and was looking at it from right here.”
Burkert says power trucks were there within about 15 minutes. According to Entergy New Orleans, at least 35 customers lost power for about two hours because of paper.
“That paper was wet and damp because of the environmental conditions that day. When something becomes wet, it becomes more conductive. That caused a fire on the line,” said Entergy New Orleans Communications Manager Beau Tidwell.
Tidwell says what happened wasn’t a reliability issue but rather a responsibility issue.
“This isn’t an instance where Entergy failed, the equipment was attacked,” said Tidwell. “We want everybody to enjoy carnival but while you’re doing it be aware that actions have consequences.”
It was a similar scene last year when video showed a confetti cannon go off from a float in the Krewe of Cleopatra. A transformer sparked, leaving about 1,500 customers without power for about an hour.
That led the city council to ban Mylar confetti, which is the type believed to have been used. Paper confetti and paper streamers are still allowed.
“Even if the cannon is only firing paper, that’s going to have an impact, potentially a very dangerous one,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell wasn’t sure about a utility line that fell during the Krewe of Thoth, but folks who were there, like Cesar Siguenza, say they saw it.
“There was a lady that was hit in the arm by the line and there was a girl that had the line fall on her head,” said Siguenza.
Siguenza says he’s just glad everyone was OK.
“Nothing but a bunch of increased heart rates,” said Siguenza. “So, that’s fortunate.”
Once crews fixed the problems and the delays were cleared up, the good times got back to rolling.
WWL Louisiana did reach out to the Krewe of Thoth and city council members Monday for their reaction to what happened, but we did not hear back by Monday evening.