Gender Reveal Party Creator Condemns Trend After Another Stunt Ignites California Fire

This isn’t the first time gender-reveal exploits have caused disaster, injury, or death — and even the blogger who popularized them wants the parties to stop.

The El Dorado Fire burns in the San Bernardino National Forest near Oak Glen, Calif., on Sunday, September 6, 2020 | Reuters/USA TODAY NETWORK
The El Dorado Fire burns in the San Bernardino National Forest near Oak Glen, Calif., on Sunday, September 6, 2020 | Reuters/USA TODAY NETWORK

A gender-reveal stunt was behind a California fire that has so far burned more than 7,000 acres of land and forced thousands to evacuate their homes. The blaze, known as the El Dorado Fire has joined dozens of other wildfires that have ravaged the state and burned a record two million acres this year.

In a Sunday statement, officials from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that the El Dorado Fire burning “was caused by a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party.” The fire began around 10:30 am local time on September 5 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, CA in San Bernardino County.

“CAL FIRE reminds the public that with the dry conditions and critical fire weather, it doesn't take much to start a wildfire,” the statement continued. “Those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially and criminally responsible.”

This isn’t the first instance of a gender-reveal stunt creating a costly, destructive fire. In 2017, an off-duty Border Patrol agent in southern Arizona created a gender-reveal exploit during which he shot a target containing colored powder, which coincided with the future child’s sex, and Tannerite, a legal but highly explosive substance. The resulting explosion sparked a fire that ultimately burned over 47,000 acres of land and led to $8 million worth of damage. Gender-reveal party mishaps have also caused dangerous, and even lethal, explosions, plane crashes, and car fires.

Gender-reveal stunts have become trendy among expecting parents, but even their “founder” has said the trend has gone too far. Blogger Jenna Karvunidis is credited with popularizing the concept after a post about a gender-reveal party that she and her husband threw for their oldest daughter went viral in 2008. But Karvunidis has since denounced the trend she helped start, saying it should be replaced with more inclusive celebrations.

Following the news of the El Dorado Fire, Karvunidis once again condemned over-the-top gender-reveal exploits in a Monday Facebook post.

“Stop it. Stop having these stupid parties,” she wrote in the post. “For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid's penis. No one cares but you.”

As of Tuesday, the El Dorado Fire had burned more than 10,500 acres of land and was about 16% contained. Authorities ordered residents to evacuate from parts of Yucaipa, a city of more than 50,000 people, per the most recent U.S. Census data.

According to a Washington Post report, the family who sparked the fire called 911 after the flames they created couldn’t be quelled with water bottles. Officials told The Post that the family is “cooperating with investigators.”

Correction: This article as been updated with the accurate day Jenna Karvunidis posted on Facebook. We regret the error.