It has been reported that one of the wildfires taking place in California erupted due to an explosive that was used as part of a 'gender-revel' party.
The incident that sparked the fire occurred at the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. It appears that one of the devices was lit and exploded but then quickly ignited the surrounding area and, despite best efforts, the party goers could not extinguish the blaze. The fire has now grown to 8,600 acres and over 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. 600 fire personnel and 6 fire-fighting planes are tackling the blaze.
California Fire investigator Capt. Bennet Milloy said of the incident:
"It really is a tragedy, it's sad. They were hoping to remember the day in a different way. You need to be extra cautious because you could be liable."
One local resident vented his anger saying:
"That place, there's nothing green out there. It's a meadow of dry, brown, dead grass. Why would you go out there and think that you can light off any kind of firework? Smoke or otherwise. It all has fire."
Due to soaring temperatures in California and the extremely dry terrain, fires can grow quickly and become out of control. It is estimated that as many as 80% of all wildfires in California are due to human action, either deliberate arson or incidents such as this one that lead to unintended disaster.
Gender reveal parties have become popular in recent years. They revolve around expecting parents, or friends of the parents, revealing the gender of their child to others. This is often done by opening a box that shows either blue or pink balloons or by setting off a pyrotechnic device that shows one of the two colours.
This isn't the first time that a gender reveal party has led to a large fire. In 2017, a gender reveal party caused a fire in Arizona that covered 47,000 acres and caused $8 million in damages. In that case, the perpetrator, a US border-patrol agent, received 5 years-probation and was forced to pay restitutions of over $8 million.
It is as of yet unclear whether the parties involved in the current incident will face any criminal or civil charges.
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