Smoke from gender-reveal device burns thousands of acres of land in the US

A fire that was caused by "pyrotechnic device" at a gender-revealed party has burned over 7,000 acres of land in California.

CBS reports suggest that 3,000 residents in the area have had to be evacuated.

In a statement yesterday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection revealed that a fire broke out after 10 am on Saturday in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, San Bernardino County before the fire spread north.

With current dry conditions and high temperatures in the US, it does not take much to start a wildfire, the statement said.

The department said: "Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially and criminally responsible,"

Gender reveal gatherings, meant for expectant parents to show the genders of their unborn babies, often use over-the-top methods of saying whether a baby is a boy or girl.

Back in 2017, an off-duty US border patrol agent damaged 47,000 acres of Arizona forest, resulting in $8m of damage, after he shot a target of blue explosives to reveal the gender of his soon-to-be-born infant.

In Iowa last year, a woman died when a home-made gender-reveal device, meant to disperse coloured powder, exploded at a party.

Progressive movements have suggested that gender-reveal methods should be re-evaluated, as gender is much more nuanced than a colour or more traditional formed of gender norms.