Lantern Safety
Lantern Festivals require specific weather conditions to be able to safely and legally release Sky Lanterns.
Weather affects lantern releases in a few different ways;
Wind Speed; wind speed is the biggest determining factor in releasing sky lanterns. Releasing lanterns in high winds can be a disaster. They will blow into others, and can travel much further than supposed to if released in wind speeds higher than 8 – 10 depending on where the release is, county area, or Deseret. Wind Direction matters as much as wind speed.
Excessive Heat; lanterns need heat to rise however to much heat, and humidity outside can negatively affect the lanterns flight, making it harder to take flight and/or gain the altitude needed to get the full experience of the event. They are more likely to fly into trees still lit in excessive heat. You should never release sky lanterns in drought conditions.
Rain; rain is another weather condition where lantern releases shouldn’t be held. Lanterns are made with Rice Paper so during rain they get wet and again won’t take flight, and if they do, their flight becomes unpredictable.
Thunder Storms, Tornados, and Hurricanes; Obviously lanterns can’t be released in these weather conditions, but even more it’s dangerous to attendees. One bad part of weather can lead to another more serious and festivals can become a danger if ignored just to get an event held.
Flash Flooding; Flash Flooding is very dangerous and can come out of nowhere quickly putting everyone’s lives in danger. The turn around don’t drown usually relates to driving during flash flooding, but in the sense of events, it means do not hold the event and put everyones life in danger just to get an event held. Roads can get washed out very quickly where the road itself can fall apart where drivers can’t see. LOA see’s flash flooding on the level with hurricanes.
In the event of flash flooding events will be suspended to after the flooding has past and roads, venue, and festival equipment have been evaluated and any repairs needed have been completed, especially to roads.
