'Magical' flotilla of hot air balloons take flight at international fiesta amid warm temperatures

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A flotilla of hot air balloons ascended into a clear desert sky on Saturday to kick off a colorful mass ascension at the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The nine-day gathering draws hundreds of thousands of spectators and pilots to New Mexico each fall for the rare opportunity to be within arm’s reach as the giant balloons are unpacked and inflated.

Balloons took flight to screams of delight after a brief weather delay and were spirited away by a gentle breeze. Propane burners roared and hundreds of balloons — from traditional globes to cartoonish figures — rose to speckle the sky with color.

“The mass ascension is just magical, unlike anything in the world really that I’ve seen,” said Paul Kluzak, of Phoenix. He has come twice before and arrived this year wearing a foot-tall hat resembling a hot-air balloon, with a camera slung around his neck. “Seeing them all at once is just really, really cool.”

Companion Heather Kluzak said that words can hardly express the thrill of the event.

“We just like to be a part of it,” she said. “It's fun to be out on the field” where the balloons inflate and depart.

This year’s fiesta includes 106 balloons in special shapes, 16 of which will be making their fiesta debut. That includes Mazu, modeled after the sea goddess of the same name who is deeply rooted in Taiwanese culture and traditions.

Ordinarily, cool morning temperatures at dawn can help pilots stay in the air longer, or carry more weight. But the morning air was unusually warm on opening day, with many spectators stripping down to T-shirts.

Morning lows and afternoon highs are expected to be above average for days in a city that on Monday recorded its hottest temperature this late in the year, at 93 degrees Fahrenheit (33.8 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.

Globally, things have been trending hotter too. It's likely this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, the European climate service Copernicus reported in early September.

Typically, when the mornings are cool, less fuel is needed to get the balloons to rise. Fiesta veterans explain it is all about generating lift by heating the air inside the envelope to temperatures greater than what is on the outside.

Still, ballooning happens year-round in many places, including in the simmering Phoenix area, which has seen its share of record-breaking temperatures over recent months.

Troy Bradley, an accomplished balloon pilot who has been flying for decades, shrugged off the warmer weather in Albuquerque.

“These are really non-issues from a spectator’s standpoint," he said. “I don’t see any difference other than they won’t be freezing in the pre-dawn hours.”