Gender reveal parties gone wrong over the past few years
The El Dorado Fire burning in Yucaipa is not the only fire to have every been started at a gender reveal party.
In April 2017, a gender reveal party in the middle of the desert near Green Valley, Arizona sparked a wildfire that burned more than 45,000 acres and caused more than 8 million dollars in damage.
The fire was started when an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent shot a target labeled "boy" and "girl." The target exploded causing a fire to quickly spread through the grass.
The agent pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of US Forest Service regulations. He was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $8.1 million in restitution.
The incident was caught on camera and released by Southwestern Region USDA Forest Service.
In April 2018 in Australia, a car emitting blue smoke to celebrate a baby boy on the way suddenly burst into flames.
"This is the first one I’ve seen like this," a spokeswoman for the Queensland Police Service told The Washington Post at the time. "Usually, people just have a cake."
Queensland Police Service released video of the incident to warn people as there were several gender reveal burnouts that resulted in flaming vehicles and arrests between 2018-19.
Last September, a gender reveal caused a plane crash in Turkey, Texas.
The pilot was flying a plane at low altitude as part of an elaborate gender reveal for a friend. The pilot dumped over 300 gallons of pink water from the plane but it was "too slow" and immediately stalled. The pilot was not injured.
A month later, an Iowa family accidentally made a pipe bomb while experimenting around with "different types of explosive material" in hopes of creating a gender reveal device.
When the device was lit, it exploded, sending shrapnel flying, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Department. The family's grandmother was killed in the explosion.
The woman who is credited with creating gender reveal parties made headlines this week when she condemned the events and asked that people stop.
"Stop having these stupid parties. For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid's penis. No one cares but you," wrote blogger Jenna Karvunidis.
Karvunidis' post appeared to be in response to the El Dorado Fire which was started by a smoke-generating 'pyrotechnic device' at a gender reveal party at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa on Saturday.
As of Tuesday evening, the fire is at 19% containment and has burned 11,259 Acres. The fire has forced over 21,000 to evacuate in parts of Oak Glen, Yucaipa, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, and Cherry Valley.
This is what we saw passing through Oak Glen today. An eerie cloud of black smoke and just an apple orchard sign left standing after the #ElDoradoFire tore through this area off Oak Glen rd. pic.twitter.com/dyJu97gJ67
— Shelby Nelson (@KESQShelby) September 6, 2020
A smoke advisory was issued in the Coachella Valley through Tuesday night. Although the fire is burning more than 50 miles away from the Valley, winds have brought smokey conditions into the valley.
Residents who see ash or smell smoke were urged to limit their
exposure by remaining indoors with windows and doors closed or seeking
alternate shelter, and avoiding vigorous physical activity.
