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NEIGHBORS on Roak Street in Auburn got a surprise visit when a hot air balloon landed in the residential area Friday morning. The RE/MAX balloon had taken off from Simard-Payne Park Memorial Park in Lewiston as part of the 2014 Great Falls Balloon Festival. “We were inside when we heard it,” said resident Jessica Brooks. “All of the sudden, there’s a balloon outside our window.” “The crew did very well,” said resident Norman St. Hilaire. The balloon’s crew said it was carried by the wind into the neighborhood. They managed to lower the balloon behind Brooks’s and St. Hilaire’s residence on the corner of Roak and Fourth streets, avoiding nearby power lines. “ You have finite control, going up and down,” said the balloon’s pilot, Jeff Ratcliffe, as he and his crew were packing the balloon and basket up for transport in a waiting van. “Wind is your propulsion system.”
NEIGHBORS on Roak Street in Auburn got a surprise visit when a hot air balloon landed in the residential area Friday morning. The RE/MAX balloon had taken off from Simard-Payne Park Memorial Park in Lewiston as part of the 2014 Great Falls Balloon Festival. “We were inside when we heard it,” said resident Jessica Brooks. “All of the sudden, there’s a balloon outside our window.” “The crew did very well,” said resident Norman St. Hilaire. The balloon’s crew said it was carried by the wind into the neighborhood. They managed to lower the balloon behind Brooks’s and St. Hilaire’s residence on the corner of Roak and Fourth streets, avoiding nearby power lines. “ You have finite control, going up and down,” said the balloon’s pilot, Jeff Ratcliffe, as he and his crew were packing the balloon and basket up for transport in a waiting van. “Wind is your propulsion system.”

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