California Fires

[Mayhem]

What do you feel is a suitable punishment for something like this?

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Law Enforcement has determined the El Dorado Fire, burning near Oak Glen in San Bernardino County, was caused by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party.

The fire began at 10:23 am on September 5, 2020 in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread from the park to the north on to Yucaipa Ridge that separates Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls from the City of Yucaipa.

[Squid]

Hand them a bill for the responding services?  "Hello, Mr. and Mrs Smith, congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your son.  I'd now like to present to you this bill for 4,596,521. 47.  We take credit cards".

California and other SW states are fighting so many fires.  The landscape is dry, dry, dry.  What would compel someone to use pyrotechnics?  I'd fine them for stupidity, too, according to Statute 345.87/J.

[Mayhem]

It's sad that so many of these fires are preventable. It's putting peoples lives at risk for no reason whatsoever.

[Squid]

Losing a home can be devastating, too.  So many hundreds of homes have been lost.  Terrible.

[Stinkerbell]

I wasn't sure how it worked, but we have a close family friend who's a firefighter here in the high desert and yesterday he told me that California DOES send the person(s) the bill AND they have hefty fines to pay. 

In an article about one of the current Cali wildfires, they mentioned the last guy to get hit had a bill for over $8 million in damages and wages for cost of firefighters, etc.

The thing is, even though, I'm sure, they never intended to start a wildfire, fireworks are illegal in most areas of Cali, as it is where they had their gender reveal party. But too many people think the laws don't apply to them.

EDITED to correct the information: So the guy with the $8.1 million was actually in AZ, but Cali does send the bill, too.

Here's the article:

This isn't the first instance in recent years where a gender-reveal party has resulted in a highly destructive wildfire. The 2017 Sawmill Fire in Arizona burned more than 45,000 acres, including parts of the Coronado National Forest, after a Border Patrol agent shot a rifle at a target as part of his family's gender-reveal.

Dennis Dickey pleaded guilty in 2018 to starting the fire, which caused an estimated $8 million in damage. The target he shot at was filled with a colored substance, which would come out either pink or blue based on the baby's sex, but also contained the highly explosive material Tannerite.

Video released by the U.S. Forest Service showed blue smoke coming from the target after it was shot and a grassy area nearby began to burn almost instantly. Dickey called authorities to alert them to the fire.

Dickey agreed to five years of probation and more than $8.1 million in restitution with an initial payment of $100,000.

[Squid]

He'll probably declare bankruptcy before he ever writes that check.

[Stinkerbell]

He'll probably declare bankruptcy before he ever writes that check.

As long as he hasn't done so in the last 7-11 years, he will probably do just that.

[Mayhem]

More information on that gender reveal fire ...

(CNN) One of the multiple wildfires burning in California was started during a gender-reveal party, officials said.

A "smoke-generating pyrotechnic device" used at the party sparked the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County, Cal Fire said in a press release.

The fire started Saturday at 10:23 a.m. PT (1:23 p.m. ET) at the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa and spread from the park north on to Yucaipa Ridge, according to the release.

The fire has since grown to 8,600 acres as of Monday and is just 7% contained, according to the San Bernardino National Forest.

[Stinkerbell]

More information on that gender reveal fire ...

(CNN) One of the multiple wildfires burning in California was started during a gender-reveal party, officials said.

A "smoke-generating pyrotechnic device" used at the party sparked the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County, Cal Fire said in a press release.

The fire started Saturday at 10:23 a.m. PT (1:23 p.m. ET) at the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa and spread from the park north on to Yucaipa Ridge, according to the release.

The fire has since grown to 8,600 acres as of Monday and is just 7% contained, according to the San Bernardino National Forest.

When my kids were younger I'd take them to Oak Glen (Yucaipa) for apple picking and cherry picking. They had some of the most amazing antiques stores there, specializing in gorgeous victorian era furniture and glassware.  There was one antiques shop out of an old barn. I had found several pieces of the Early American Pattern Glass that I collect (1870s). It's been years since we've gone, but I know of many church groups would still make youth trips there for camping and/or orchard picking trips.

Such a tragedy.

[Squid]

I remember you saying that you collected that glass.  Do you display the pieces?  It must be fascinating!

[Stinkerbell]

I do have it on display!



This is the main display cabinet but I have other pieces mingled with other items I collect.  The clear glass pieces are the Early American pattern glass. My main pattern is called Egyptian. It has images of the pyramids, the sphinx, camels... Egypt was a hot topic in the 1870s-1900s so people loved this pattern of glass. We have several other patterns, as well.

If you click the picture and look on the lower center shelf, you can see a Cleopatra bread plate. 

[Squid]

Lovely, I could probably sit for a long time looking at all the different scenes/patterns.  That's some compote dish!  I like the pitchers, too.  All very nice.  I hope you enjoy being among them!

[LittleFawn]

We have wildfires here in Washington State. Smoke has been bad but not like Cali. It is so dry here right now. I hope we can get some rain soon.

[Stinkerbell]

Weather across the country is absolutely bizarre. My best friends daughter lives in Colorado and she told her mom that one day it was 90° and the next day they had a snow storm.

[snowflower]

I do have it on display!



This is the main display cabinet but I have other pieces mingled with other items I collect.  The clear glass pieces are the Early American pattern glass. My main pattern is called Egyptian. It has images of the pyramids, the sphinx, camels... Egypt was a hot topic in the 1870s-1900s so people loved this pattern of glass. We have several other patterns, as well.

If you click the picture and look on the lower center shelf, you can see a Cleopatra bread plate.

Amazing and very interesting!!

[Mayhem]

Lots of people on Twitter have been posting memes since this happened. Here's one of them :

[Stinkerbell]

RIGHT!!!!!!  I feel bad for the kid!

[Squid]

The news this morning showed all the towns just wiped off the map in Calif, Oreg., Ariz.  I wanted to cry.

[Stinkerbell]

The news this morning showed all the towns just wiped off the map in Calif, Oreg., Ariz.  I wanted to cry.

I can't imagine what it's like for them, but from my house looking south we can see billows of smoke from the different fires in the areas... we can see them to the south east, to the south west, and some days it's so hazy here you'd think it was a grey winter day. It's truly tragic.

[Mayhem]

This area just got smoke from these fires the first time this year. It's pretty bad ...