A Gender Reveal Party Caused A 47,000-Acre Wildfire
A border patrol agent started a 47,000-acre wildfire during his baby’s gender reveal party, and now has to pay over $8 million in restitution.
By DAVID on October 1, 2018
And it was caused by an off-duty border patrol agent. So, the fire in question is the Sawmill Fire, which burned about 47,000 acres of land in Arizona back in April 2017. The fire started as a result of a gender-reveal party which used explosives in the reveal.
The Sawmill Fire caused about $8 million worth of damage in April 2017. It was caused during a gender reveal party, like said above. The guy who started the fire is also a border patrol agent. In the reveal, he was shooting at a target that was rigged to explode with the color of the gender (pink or blue). He filled the targets with tannerite, which is a highly explosive material used for visual impact. When he struck the target, it exploded as planned. What he didn’t plan on was a fire starting, which spread quickly.
The agent did admit total fault in the incident. He even called for help as soon as the fire started. It’s very unfortunate though that the fire began spreading too quickly before firefighters could get there. It spread through all the dry grass and timber, eventually growing to over 45,000 acres, and requiring over 600 firefighters. Total damage done was just over $8 million, which he now has to pay back in restitution. He absolutely admitted fault, pleading guilty, and making an initial payment of $100,000 towards that restitution. Be careful with your gender reveal parties, maybe just pop a balloon or something. Here’s more information on the story.
