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A couple’s plan to reveal the sex of their baby did not go up in blue or pink smoke, but into flames when the device they used started a wildfire that burned thousands of acres and forced people to flee a city to the east. of the Angels.
The fire prompted evacuations in and around parts of Yucaipa, a city of 54,000 people.
Water-dropping helicopters were brought in, but the fire grew to 11.5 square miles Monday and more than 500 firefighters on the scene had only minimal containment.
It was the latest in what has become a long line of event tragedies where smoke, confetti, balloons, or other colored objects are typically used to reveal the gender of the soon-to-be-born child: pink for girls and blue for children.
The fire started Saturday at El Ranch Dorado Park, a rugged wilderness area popular with hikers and dog owners.
In summer, the park’s tall natural grasses dry out and turn golden, and when combined with the San Bernardino Mountains in the distance, they provide a popular backdrop for family photos and videos.
The unidentified couple chose the location to reveal the sex of their baby. They were accompanied by their young children and had a friend or family member record a video on a phone, said Capt. Bennet Milloy of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The family went to a field and fired the device, which quickly ignited the 4-foot grass, Milloy said. Conditions were perfect for a fire to spread quickly: triple-digit temperatures, low humidity, dry vegetation, and a strong breeze.
Surveillance video showed the couple frantically running to their vehicle to retrieve bottles of water to try to put out the flames. It was useless and they called the emergency services.
“You can’t fight a fire like this with a bottle of water,” Milloy said. “They had no chance after it started.”
Firefighters arrived within minutes and the distraught couple told them what happened and provided their own photos and videos to aid in the investigation.
“It’s a pretty tragic situation,” he said. “Obviously, it was supposed to be a happy event.”
The couple could be responsible for the cost of fighting the fire and facing legal process.
Milloy said that some devices used to reveal gender are harmless, but others contain chemicals that produce heat and can start fires.
He said the device will be tested to determine what it contained and did not know what color it emitted. – AP
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