Up and down the West Coast of the United States, nearly a hundred wildfires are raging. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as the fires destroy massive amounts of acreage and eat through entire towns.

One of these fires—the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County, California—was started in an unexpected way: a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party.

“A smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” was used during a gender reveal party on Sept. 5, 2020 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, a press release from Cal Fire said.

“With the dry conditions and critical fire weather,” Cal Fire noted at the bottom of the press release, “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.” Negligence may also, in some cases, lead to class action or other lawsuits.

By Sept. 10, just six days later, the El Dorado Fire had covered nearly 13,600 acres, destroying four homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. More than 1,200 firefighters are working on containing the fire, and had reached 31% containment by that evening.

The El Dorado Fire has forced evacuation orders for several nearby communities.

Surveillance video from the gender reveal party showed someone lighting the pyrotechnic device, and shortly thereafter, parents and kids began scrambling for water bottles to put out the flames—but it was too late, with the flames already growing.

“It really is a tragedy, it’s sad. They were hoping to remember the day in a different way,” said Cal Fire investigator Capt. Bennet Milloy.

The surveillance video has not yet been released by fire officials due to the ongoing investigation. The family and others at the gender reveal party have been cooperating with the investigation, Milloy said.

If the district attorney chooses to pursue the case, it would be the person who actually lit the pyrotechnic that would be charged, Milloy said.

Were Any Laws Violated?

Fire investigators have so far found that at least three laws were violated during this incident, including “igniting the land” and arson. The potential penalty for these kinds of charges is unclear, as it first must be determined whether these charges would be filed as misdemeanors or felonies. This distinction would be determined by the level of recklessness involved.

“You need to be extra cautious because you could be liable,” Milloy said.

This is not the first gender reveal party that has caused a wildfire. Back in 2017, a similar party in Arizona involving an exploding blue cloud led to a fire burning down nearly 47,000 acres and causing more than $8 million in damage.

According to the National Park Service, nearly 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are human-caused, such as from unattended campfires, burning debris, equipment use and malfunctions, discarded cigarettes, and intentional arson. There are two natural causes for wildfires—most naturally-started wildfires are caused by lightning strikes, and in some very rare instances, the spontaneous combustion of dry fuel like sawdust or leaves can also spark a wildfire naturally.

The wildfire risk has increased over the last few decades, and especially in the last couple of years. In California, wildfires have increased eight times in size since the 1970s, and the annual area burned by fires has increased by almost 500%, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford.

Unfortunately, this year’s fire season isn’t even close to over.

“Until widespread precipitation falls on the West Coast—of which there’s currently no sign at all and in a typical year, wouldn’t be expected for another one to two months—conditions are going to continue to be really extreme,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told CNN. “I don’t see much of a let up.”

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.