Arsonist Destroys Beloved ‘Puddles’ Hot Air Balloon Penguin

An adventure in the desert for a hot air balloon pilot from England takes a fiery turn when he became the victim of arson. Andrew Holly visited the desert for Cathedral City’s Hot Air Balloon festival, he said in a matter of seconds an entire truck with one of his balloons and basked were consumed by flames. "We ran outside, and it took 30 seconds to take off," Holly said. "Just got outside to it the moment it happened it was already completely out of control to the point that even with our fire extinguishers and our training we get fire training we couldn’t bring it under control." While Holly ate with colleagues, police said a 30-year-old transient Keenon Hiler set the truck and his beloved Penguin ballin ‘Puddles’ on fire. Holly said, "He didn’t make any attempt to run off, he just sat quietly there we didn’t have to restrain him and he sat there waiting for the police to come." Police said the suspect told them he wanted to end his life. No type of training prepared Holly for an attack like this, he has traveled around the world with Puddles. Holly said, "A lot of people this morning, hundreds and hundreds of messages of people who have seen that balloon events around the world who are really upset that it’s not there." The damage will cost more than $100,000 to replace but he said he will not let this specific incident ruin his trip. He also wants to make it clear this fire does not make it any less safe to ride a hot air balloon. Holly said, "Balloons are very safe this was not a ballooning accident, this was just straight arson."