The incident occurred just after 8 a.m. in The Colony, a residential community, according to the Murrieta Police Department. Poor weather and windy conditions were blamed.
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The pilot took off from the Temecula wine country, and he said the winds were much stronger than he initially thought. He saw a landscaping crew and shouted for help.
"I threw a rope down to them, and they pulled me in," said Brian Lynch. "It was just kind of lucky to have someone on the ground able to help."
"All I heard was this big noise," said landscaper Angel Martinez.
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No one on the ground was injured, nor was any property damaged, officials said.
A photo tweeted by police shows the multi-colored balloon in the middle of a street, near a structure that it apparently just missed.
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