HOT AIR BALLOON PLT HAD TO LAND THROUGH FAST FORMING FOG.

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LAUNCHED IN GOOD VMC CONDITIONS. WHILE PERFORMING HIGH ALT MANEUVERS; GND FOG STARTED TO FORM. BY THE TIME I HAD DSNDED TO LOWER ALT; FOG HAD FORMED OVER BROAD AREA AND APPEARED TO BE 200-400 FT THICK. INITIALLY; I MAINTAINED A LOW ALT ABOVE FOG DECK LOOKING FOR A LNDG AREA TO BECOME CLR. AFTER ABOUT 30 MINS OF HOLDING; I MANEUVERED WITH REF TO OBJECTS PROJECTING ABOVE THE FOG AND BEGAN SLOW DSCNT. I ESTABLISHED GND CONTACT AT APPROX 100-200 FT AGL AND FROM THERE WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER FOR A SAFE LNDG. PRIMARY CAUSE OF INCIDENT WAS LACK OF AWARENESS AS TO HOW QUICKLY THICK FOG CAN FORM AND NOT BEING MORE AGGRESSIVE TO LAND AT FIRST SIGN OF FOG FORMATION. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH REPORTER REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: THE RPTR ADMITS THAT THIS WAS THE SCARIEST SIT THAT HE HAS BEEN IN IN 10 YRS OF FLYING MORE THAN 1 TYPE OF ACFT. HE HAD A PROPER WX BRIEFING THAT INDICATED 'PATCHY' FOG; NOT FOG THAT STRETCHED AS FAR AS HE COULD SEE IN THE DIRECTION THAT HE WAS DRIFTING. THE FOG WAS ONLY ABOUT 100 FT THICK. IT LASTED ONLY ABOUT AN HR; BUT LONGER THAN HIS FUEL SUPPLY WOULD HAVE ALLOWED HIM TO STAY ALOFT.