Monday morning, Ka‘u patrol officers responded to a report of three burned out sky lanterns found on a property on the 96-1000 block of Iliau Street in Pahala. The resident reported that one landed on a roof, another on a utility line and a third in the yard of another nearby property.

Police were able to recover two of the three lanterns but were unable to access the third on the rooftop.

Following the discovery of the lanterns, Hawaii Island police issued a public reminder that “aerial luminaries are incredibly dangerous, as well as illegal.”

In the news release, the department stated that it appears that the lanterns were ignited and set afloat sometime over the weekend.

The possessing and igniting of aerial luminaries like the sky lanterns found in Pahala is prohibited by state law. Those found guilty may be imprisoned for up to a year or fined up to $1,000.

“Given Ka‘u’s history of wildfires and the current drought conditions currently affecting Ka‘u, and other parts of Hawaii Island, the use of aerial luminaries poses a significant fire risk to communities,” said Ka‘u Patrol Acting Captain Pernell Hanoa in the news release.

“It’s frustrating that with so many of our friends and family on Maui still recovering from the devastating wildfires, that people would set off these incendiary devices, and allow them to become airborne. These balls of fire have to land somewhere and we are fortunate that no fires were reported as a result of this incident.”

According to the news release, Ka‘u patrol officers have responded to more than 10 incidents where houses, other property and agricultural land have been impacted by wildfires.

The Hawaii Police Department asks that anyone who witnesses someone using an aerial luminary call the department’s non-emergency number, 808-935-3311.