Legal or not - a lot of people seem to love using sky lanterns to commemorate special occasions - whether it's at a wedding for good luck or at celebrations of life to remember loved ones that have passed.  If you're not familiar with sky lanterns - they're constructed or lightweight papier-mache, with a wick at the bottom that you light on fire and then send without a second thought up into the sky.

One of those spent lanterns recently came to the end of its flight on the roof of the home of the International Falls Fire Chief.  According to news reports, when Adam Mannausau backed his vehicle out of driveway recently, he saw some debris on  the top of the roof of his house. When he went up to inspect it, he found the charred remains of a sky lantern.

According to Chief Mannausau:

They look nice and are fun to do, but they could cause a problem.  I want people to be educated and think about the potential consequences of using them.  Officially, I would hope people won't use them.

The question of whether or not sky lanterns are legal to use depends on where you live.  In Minnesota - the items are classified as fireworks and are illegal to use.  Right now in Wisconsin, sky lanterns are still legal.

 

 

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