Photo: Arizona Daily Star/YouTube

We Now Have the Video of the Gender Reveal Party That Resulted in a Massive Wildfire

News
by Eben Diskin Oct 2, 2018

At a gender reveal, you typically see a lot of blue or pink, depending on the baby’s gender. At this particular gender reveal, the scene was dominated by glowing reds and oranges as a massive wildfire tore through Arizona’s Coronado National Forest.

Things didn’t exactly go according to plan for Dennis Dickey, who inadvertently started the destructive Sawmill Fire in April 2017. For the big moment, the 37-year-old Border Patrol agent had planned to fire a rifle at a target filled with Tannerite, a highly explosive substance — the target would then burst into a dazzling display of blue or pink. Instead, the blast sent sparks into the dry brush, starting a fire that torched 47,000 acres of grasslands, displaced residents from their homes, required 800 firefighters to extinguish, and cost authorities over $8 million.

The 40 mph winds and dry conditions didn’t help the situation. The fire burned for nearly two weeks before firefighters were able to extinguish it. Luckily, no buildings were actually destroyed. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Dickey told the federal court judge, “It was a complete accident… I feel absolutely horrible about it. It was probably one of the worst days of my life.”

Now, the video of the incident has finally been revealed by the US Forest Service. The dramatic footage captures the exact moment the blaze began, as a black target bearing the words “Boy” and “Girl” went up in flames. After the target is shot, you hear a thundering boom, and then watch as the colorful powder explosion turns into an uncontrollable fire.

And lest the original purpose of the stunt be forgotten, it was ultimately revealed that the baby is a boy.

H/T: BuzzFeed News

This article has been updated on November 28th, 2018.

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