Locals unfazed after sky lantern sets clothes drying in balcony on fire

Locals unfazed after sky lantern sets clothes drying in balcony on fire

2025-09-24

Imagine your clothes are being hang dried on the balcony, and suddenly they catch fire. That’s what happened to a resident of Pingxi, the town in New Taipei known for sky lanterns. Apparently, the wind made one of these paper lanterns drift off course and crash into the balcony, starting a blaze. Though tourists seemed alarmed, locals were unfazed, as it’s not the first time something like this happened, and it probably won’t be the last.

The sky lantern skews off course and comes crashing into a balcony, setting fire to clothes on a drying rack. Tourists had come hoping to make their wish come true, but after that, they didn’t know quite what to think.

Business owner
Pingxi Old Street
The residents were drying their clothes, so the fire might have started because of the fabric. When a lantern falls to the ground, only its outer covering burns up.

Locals are used to sky lanterns entering their balconies. Some have installed metal grates, and wire mesh barricades to prevent an intrusion that starts a fire.

Business owner
Pingxi Old Street
We put a metal mesh on the balconies. We make our own screen windows from metal. We have to deal with the problem ourselves and install them ourselves.

Tourists write blessings and wishes on the sky lanterns in hopes that they come true. But this popular past time is not without its detractors, with some questioning its space in the modern day.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#skylantern #pingxi #tourism #taiwantravel #pingxiskylantern #wish

平溪天燈飄向民宅陽台 "衣服起火燃燒"遊客驚呆

2025-09-24

不少外國遊客來台灣，會特別前往平溪放天燈，體驗台灣傳統文化，但就有外國遊客直擊，一盞天燈飄向民宅陽台，造成二樓住戶衣服起火燃燒，遊客驚呆，面對天燈"誤闖"陽台，周遭住戶似乎也習以為常，除了架設鐵門鐵窗，更用鐵絲網自製"隱形鐵窗"，以防天燈"亂入"。

天燈沒飄往空中，卻是飄向民宅陽台，瞬間點燃曬衣架上的衣服，外國遊客直擊起火瞬間，直呼原以為高興許願，卻發生這樣的事情，心情無味雜陳。

[[平溪老街業者]]
“他們剛好有曬衣服，所以火可能就是，因為衣服材質嘛所以燒起來，其實如果一般掉下來，它只有燒天燈的外皮而已。”

其實平溪老街上的民宅，碰上天燈誤闖陽台，大家似乎早已習以為常，除了架設鐵窗鐵門，更自製鐵絲網，避免天燈無預警"亂入"，釀成火災。

[[平溪老街業者]]
“陽台鐵絲那種。我們家自己是紗窗直接用鐵的做。我們這邊是（業者）誰放的，就是誰去處理這樣。”

天燈上寫下滿滿祝福，隨著天燈飛向空中，祈求願望實現，平溪傳統文化，意外釀災，隨著科技進步，有沒有其他替代選項，也成了網友討論話題。

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民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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