Hot air balloon lands in Kelowna parking lot; change of wind cited as reason

It was quite the spectacle on Thursday morning in Kelowna when a hot air balloon landed in a parking lot next to a busy road.

The landing happened just off Leckie Road, near Enterprise Road, around 8:15 a.m.

The company, Okanagan Ballooning, said it was a routine landing that happened to occur in a busier spot than normal due to a sudden change in wind direction.

“We landed there, just put it down the parking lot totally safe,” said Joy Klempner of Okanagan Ballooning.

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Klempner said a crew was on site, the balloon came down no problem, and there were no injuries “because it was just a regular normal landing, it was just the wind direction.”

The company also said police were on scene to ensure traffic flowed smoothly in the area.

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Okanagan Ballooning said the pilot had planned to land at Spring Valley Elementary School near Costco, but the wind changed direction when the balloon was about 200 feet off the ground.

Because of that, the pilot had to find another open space to land. There were three passengers on board plus the pilot.

Okanagan Ballooning said while it may seem odd to see a hot-air balloon landing, its experienced pilots used to land all over Kelowna in years past.