It can be an exciting time to find out the gender of the baby you or someone you know is carrying. And in this day and age, what’s finding out the gender without some elaborate gender reveal plan?

From opening a box of balloons to cutting a cake and seeing the color of the frosting, there are so many ways to find out whether you’re having a boy or girl. But while some gender reveals go off without a hitch, there are many instances where they, unfortunately, don’t go according to plan. And one recent gender reveal party caused some pretty terrible consequences: A wildfire in El Dorado, California.

 

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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

It was during a gender reveal party on September 5, 2020 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The couple used a “smoke generating pyrotechnic device” to share the gender. Normally, it might not have been a safety issue, but with the high temperatures in the area, the device wound up triggering burning near Oak Glen in San Bernardino County.

“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,” according to a press release issued by CAL FIRE Law Enforcement.

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

To learn more about how the wildfire began, check out the video below.

Talk about a gender reveal party that went horribly wrong! Have you ever seen a gender reveal cause a chain reaction like this? How do you think the wildfire could’ve been prevented?