A California wildfire which has so far destroyed 7,050 acres of land 40 miles northeast of Palm Springs was started during a gender reveal party, it has emerged.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Sunday night that a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device caused the fire.
The devices are sometimes used to release blue or pink smoke to announce the gender of an expected baby.
The fire started on Saturday at 10:23am, they said, and 527 people from 10 fire crews are currently trying to halt the fire’s progress.
It spread from the El Dorado Ranch Park north, onto the Yucaipa Ridge. The ridge separates Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls from the City of Yucaipa.
The El Dorado wildfire, which broke out on Saturday morning, was started by a gender reveal party, it has been confirmed
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Sunday night a gender reveal party had sparked the fire
The wildfire is pictured moving up the hillsides of San Bernardino National Forest on Sunday
The fire spread rapidly north from where it started at the El Dorado Ranch Park north, onto the Yucaipa Ridge
The fire spread from the El Dorado Ranch Park north, onto the Yucaipa Ridge and into the San Bernardino National Forest
Evacuation orders are in place for the communities of Oak Glen, Yucaipa Ridge, Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls
No injuries have been reported. An outbuilding was destroyed on Saturday, Desert Sun reported, but no other damage was reported as of Sunday afternoon.
The paper said about 30 homes were threatened by the fire.
Evacuation orders are in place for the communities of Oak Glen, Yucaipa Ridge, Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls.
An Evacuation Warning is now in effect for the Yucaipa bench area, the fire service said.
Residents are being told that they may evacuate to Yucaipa Community Center as a temporary evacuation facility.
Fire fighters are using 60 fire engines and four helicopters to douse the blaze with water.
‘CAL FIRE reminds the public that with the dry conditions and critical fire weather, it doesn’t take much to start a wildfire,’ the press release stated.
‘Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially responsible and criminally responsible.’
Satellite images on Saturday gave a sense of the scale of the El Dorado fire, which was started by a gender reveal party
The El Dorado Fire blazed up into the San Bernardino National Forest, near Oak Glen, wiping out more than 7,000 acres
Helicopters, planes, and more than 60 fire trucks were being used by 527 fire fighters to try and contain the blaze
A fire fighting plane is seen dousing the area with specially-formulated fire retardants designed to suffocate the sparks
Helicopters were also used, pouring gallons of water onto the fire in an effort to contain the flames
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