A U.S. Customs and Border Protection surveillance blimp, approximately 200 feet long, was dislodged by strong winds in South Padre Island, Texas. It drifted nearly 600 miles before crashing into power lines near Dallas. Wind gusts were around 30 miles per hour during the incident. Fire and Rescue teams were perplexed when they received reports of the blimp's location, leading to its eventual recovery. The operators faced challenges due to the blimp getting tangled in the lines, requiring specialized equipment for its extraction and highlighting unusual recovery situations they encounter.
According to the Air and Marine Operations division, Quinlan Texas Fire and Rescue found the blimp on Tuesday in Hunt County, about 30 miles east of Dallas.
Chief Ryan Biggers of the South Hunt County Fire Rescue said he was puzzled when the department received a weird call about 6:40 a.m. Wednesday from Border Patrol seeking help with recovering the blimp.
When he responded, he saw white material hanging over trees and power lines, as if a white tarp had been laid out.
Jake Cunningham, operations manager at Benson Bros. Wrecker Service, said, Fortunately, we are a little more experienced in some of the stranger calls.
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