Hot air balloons grounded by wildfire smoke

Disappointed customers and frustrated pilots.

That's what Ballooning Snohomish is dealing with due to all this wildfire smoke.

Bob Romaneschi owns the hot air balloon company.

He said his operation has been closed because of smoke for 11 days during the peak of their season.

"That's somewhat frightening because we look to do a lot of flying in August," he said. "That's what puts the strength into our business for the entire year.”

That's 14 flights his company has lost.

He said each cancelled flight costs the company about $1,500.

Romaneschi says they've had lots of people upset they couldn't take a balloon flight. Customers had hoped to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and marriage proposals.

The shutdown also affects people from out of town hoping to get a view of the Sound.

“We had a family that was here and they had a visiting person from Alaska. She flew in basically just to do the balloon ride,” Romaneschi said.

The company expects to be closed Thursday but hopes for at least one flight on Friday.

Balloons aren't the only form of flight feeling the pain of smoky skies. Kenmore Air shut down its operations on Tuesday and cancelled some morning flights on Wednesday.