A man dressed as Santa Claus, who was flying on a powered parachute, was rescued on Sunday after he got entangled in power lines in California’s Sacromento County.

According to reports, as soon as the man took off near a school in Rio Linda to deliver candy canes to children in his community, he got stuck in power lines.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told KCRA-TV that he flew into a complex network of power lines and ended up suspended in them. 

The man was uninjured. Video from the rescue shows that as Santa sat fastened to the pilot seat, the red-white-and-blue aircraft remained dangling overhead and neighbours watched from the ground as crews worked.

Colleen Bousliman, who lives nearby, said the pilot flies overhead often.

According to Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Chris Vestal, power was shut off during the rescue to about 200 customers in the Rio Linda area trying to keep the entangled man safe from electric shocks. 

“It’s unfortunate, but we all need to remember that there’s still a lot of good out in the world, there are people doing good things and to look at the brightness of the holiday season,” Vestal said. He said it didn’t take long to rescue the costumed pilot and lower him to safety.

“W/o a scratch & full of good cheer we made sure Old St. Nick will use his reindeer when he sees you later this year,” the fire department said in a tweet after the incident.