LOS ANGELES | A wildfire in southern California was sparked off by fireworks at a party to reveal the gender of a baby, firefighters said Sunday.
More than 500 firefighters and four helicopters were mobilized to fight the fire which broke out Saturday morning in El Dorado, east of San Bernardino, destroying 28,000 hectares, according to the Californian firefighters (Cal Fire).
Residents of several sectors in the region have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
The fire was caused by “a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used at a party to reveal the gender of a baby,” Cal Fire said on Twitter.
“Those responsible for igniting fires through negligence or due to illegal activities can be held financially and criminally responsible,” he warned.
During these “gender reveal parties», Organized during pregnancy, the sex of the expected baby is sometimes revealed by blue or pink smoke during a fireworks display.
The fire broke out as California is experiencing another heat wave, and temperatures were expected to exceed 43 degrees in the Los Angeles area on Monday.
These temperatures conducive to forest fires come after more than 600,000 hectares of forest had already gone up in smoke in multiple fires, including three of the largest in the history of this state, which had caused the evacuation of tens of thousands. people in mid-August.
In northern California, more than 200 people trapped by a wildfire had to be evacuated by military helicopter on Sunday.
The blaze started on steep, rugged terrain in the Sierra National Forest about 70 miles northeast of Fresno on Friday. Another fire quickly spread near San Diego.