7,000 Acre California Forest Fire Set By 'Smoke-Generating Pyrotechnic Device' At Gender Reveal Party!

OK, this is absolutely ridiculous!!!

A “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” used during a gender reveal party in Yucaipa, California was the cause that sparked the currently-burning El Dorado Forest Fire near the desert town right now. As of Labor Day (Monday) morning, the fire has charred over 7,000 acres and is just 5% contained by fire fighters, according to local officials.

The Cal Fire San Bernardino Unit revealed the cause of the fire to be the pyrotechnic device from the gender reveal party in an announcement to the media late Sunday night. According to the unit, the fire began before 10:30 am on Saturday morning, September 5th, during the aforementioned gender reveal celebration which was taking place at El Dorado Ranch Park in the city of Yucaipa.

It’s unclear whether the unit — or the local police — have made contact with the group that allegedly started the fire, but cryptically the news announcement does remind people with warnings about the potential penalties involved with starting fires due to negligence and related issues (below):

“”Cal Fire reminds the public that with the dry conditions and critical fire weather, it doesn’t take much to start a wildfire. Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially and criminally responsible.”

Considering how quickly the fire has spread from there due to unbelievably dry and hot conditions in California, well, maybe it would be smart to start holding people criminally responsible for things like this. Even if it’s not intentional, taking any type of “pyrotechnic device” into a park during this hot, dry season in inland California is just… NOT smart.

Here is Cal Fire’s full release about the incident (below):

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CAL FIRE Law Enforcement has determined the El Dorado Fire, burning near Oak Glen in San Bernardino County, was caused by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party. The fire began at 10:23 am on September 5, 2020 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread from the park to the north on to Yucaipa Ridge that separates Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls from the City of Yucaipa.

A post shared by CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit (@calfirebdu) on Sep 6, 2020 at 8:08pm PDT

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County due to the fire; four other counties in California are also under a state of emergency while facing major wildfires and extreme temperatures. On Sunday, the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, California recorded a mid-day temperature of 121 degrees Fahrenheit — hotter on the day than Death Valley, and the hottest temperature EVER recorded in the history of southwest California.

That, combined with high winds in the high deserts and valleys of the southern portion of the state, have made for a horrifying fire situation. Now, man-made causes like this just further make the fire risk un-defendable for many parts of the state. Ugh…

The city of Yucaipa itself has set up evacuation orders for many of its residents, with Red Cross officials there waiting to help, as well:

#EldoradoFire evacuation order map. Red Cross reception center at Yucaipa community center. pic.twitter.com/OdEf4RFKEF

— Yucaipa Police (@YucaipaPD) September 7, 2020

Thankfully, no injuries have yet been reported in this particular fire.

Since August 15, the state of California as a whole has seen 900 wildfires, combined which have burned more than 1.5 million acres of land and been responsible for eight deaths and nearly 3,300 destroyed structures. Just in three weeks’ time. Wow… those numbers are hard to wrap our heads around.

Here’s to the fire fighters continuing to fight this and the other fires throughout the state right now.

It’s a tough, tough job — made much tougher by the intense and record-breaking heat. Stay safe out there!!!