With gender reveal parties, events, and photo shoots still quite popular, plenty of parents must feel pressure to up their game. But an Arizona dad's gender reveal was so over-the-top that he'll be paying for until his newborn is 21. Now, we not only know the baby's gender but also a video has been released of the moment that this explosion started a massive wildfire, and it's seriously shocking.
More from CafeMom: 'Gained a Girl, Almost Lost a Boy': Baby Gender Reveal Goes Horribly Wrong
In April 2017, Dennis Dickey, a Border Patrol agent who was off-duty at the time, threw a gender-reveal celebration using a product with Tannerite.
The explosive substance is designed to detonate when shot by a high-velocity firearm, US Forest Service Special Agent Brent Robinson wrote in an affidavit filed September 20 in US District Court. It blows up to reveal blue or pink powder.
But the combination of wind gusts and the explosion led to a massive wildfire in the Coronado National Forest, federal land administered by the US Forest Service. The fire caused more than $8 million in damage. Getting it under control required nearly 800 firefighters working on it over the course of a week.
"It was a complete accident," Dickey told US Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman in court. "I feel absolutely horrible about it. It was probably one of the worst days of my life."
The US Forest Service released a video that captured the full blast.
In the disturbing footage, the fact that baby Dickey is a boy isn't the focus. Instead it's the huge wildfire that his big reveal instantly starts.
Not only does this moment cause a massive fire that burns for two weeks across 47,000 acres, but it also caused people to evacuate from their homes.
Dickey pleaded guilty to causing what is now referred to as the Sawmill Fire.
NBC News reported that by pleading guilty, Dickey agreed to five years of probation and paying more than $8.1 million in restitution, with an initial payment of $100,000.
Of course, that's a gasp-worthy, probably unrealistic amount for him to actually end up paying. What's more likely: He will pay $500 a month over the next 20 years, for a total fine of $220,000, according to local reports.
The father will also star in a public service announcement with the US Forest Service, according to a news release.
The aftermath of what was meant to be a family celebration had commenters on the NBC News Facebook page torn. Some sympathize with Dickey.
Others are shaking their heads at what the total fine will mean for the family.
And of course, there are those who are rolling their eyes at gender reveal parties in general.
No matter how you feel about gender reveal parties, most people would agree that the event likely isn't worth having to pay for it for years.
Fingers crossed that Dickey's unfortunate incident encourages other parents planning gender reveals to embrace the idea that, more often than not, less is more.
