El Dorado Fire

The El Dorado Fire, also colloquially known as the Gender Reveal Fire, was a wildfire burning during the 2020 California wildfire season and was burning in the area of Yucaipa, west of Oak Glen near Highway 38 in San Bernardino County, California in the United States. Igniting on Saturday, September 5, near the winding two-lane Oak Glen Road, the fire has since expanded to 22,744 acres (9,204 ha) and destroyed 10 structures, including 4 residences, and damaged 6 others.[4] The fire was caused by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party and spread rapidly, causing one fatality.

El Dorado Fire
LocationOak Glen,
San Bernardino County,
California
Coordinates34.054871°N 116.97735°W / 34.054871; -116.97735
Statistics[1][2]
Cost≥$8 million
Date(s)September 5, 2020 (2020-09-05) – November 16, 2020 (2020-11-16)
Burned area22,744 acres (9,204 ha)
CauseSparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party
Buildings destroyed10 structures destroyed, 6 structures damaged
Deaths1 firefighter[3]
Non-fatal injuries12
Map
Location in Southern California
Location of El Dorado Fire

Timeline

The fire began on September 5, caused by a malfunctioning smoke-generating pyrotechnical device at a gender reveal party.[5] The fire then continued to spread in the El Dorado Ranch Park, as well as parts of San Bernardino County and Riverside County, burning up to 13,715 acres as of September 14. By September 18, it was 66% contained, and the fire had damaged 6 buildings and destroyed 10. One firefighter was killed by the fire.[3] By October 10, the El Dorado Fire was at 22,744 acres (9,204 ha) and was 95% contained.[6] The fire was extinguished on November 16, 2020.

Impact

The burn scar of the El Dorado Fire left parts of Yucaipa at risk of mudflows during a major winter rain storm in January 2021. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the Mountain Home Village community on January 28.[7] Evacuation orders were lifted on January 29.[8]

Media

The El Dorado Fire received national attention largely due to the means by which it was ignited. The gender reveal party was held in comparison to similar incidents and used as a criticism of the practice.[9] Twitter users reacted to the fire and its cause by sharing various memes, such as a spoof of a Smokey Bear poster.[10]

See also

References
  1. "El Dorado Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. InciWeb. October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. "El Dorado Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  3. Andone, Dakin (September 18, 2020). "A firefighter has died in the California wildfire sparked by a gender reveal party". CNN. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  4. National Forest, San Bernardino [@SanBernardinoNF] (September 11, 2020). "#ElDoradoFire Evening Update twitter.com/SanBernardinoNF/status/1304628831009910784" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. Hollie Silverman, Amir Vera and Cheri Mossburg. "A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party sparked one of the California wildfires, burning over 8,600 acres". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  6. "El Dorado Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. "Storm Forces Evacuations For El Dorado Fire Burn Area Around Yucaipa". CBS Los Angeles. January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  8. Barkas, Sherry (January 29, 2021). "Rain reaches Palm Springs area; mountain areas see heavy snow; all evacuation orders lifted". Desert Sun. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  9. Morales, Christina (September 8, 2020). "A baby gender reveal party was blamed for starting a wildfire in California. It's not the first celebration to end in disaster". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  10. Sparks, Hannah (September 8, 2020). "Twitter roasts gender-reveal party trend with wildfire memes". New York Post. NYP Holdings. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

 This article incorporates text from https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/9/5/el-dorado-fire/, a public domain work of the Government of California.


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