A pulsing red light seen above the skies of Altadena, California

The event occurred during the late evening of July 4, in the late 1970s or early 1980s.  My relatives and I had been watching fireworks with my binoculars, and as we prepared to go home, my mother noticed a small but conspicuous point of red light almost directly overhead.  Using my binoculars, I watched it for several minutes and noticed the following features: 1) It appeared to be a point source of light with no noticeable shape 2) The red light pulsated on an irregular basis, growing dim and then growing brighter with no apparent pattern 3) The light slowly shifted its position relative to the background of stars, but without leaving the area in which it was first sighted.  My impression is that its movement resembled that of a lighted balloon attached to the ground by a string or rope, which allowed it to be blown by high altitude winds, yet kept it from moving to a different area of the sky. It is my understanding that this object was also seen by other persons in the area and that the local Altadena or Pasadena newspaper ran a story about the UFO the following day, but I have never followed up this incident.