Yes, you didn’t read wrongly. It did happen and I am shocked as well… The first Gender reveal party started in 2008 and it has been more common these few years. 

Wildfires aren’t the only caused by arson, lightning, ignition of equipment, irresponsible disposal of cigarettes, improper extinguishment of campfires, debris burning, and driving of a car that sends soot to dry vegetation, it also includes Bobcat fires which are places engulfed by other existing fires, the use of pyrotechnic devices, the emission of blue or pink thick clouds of smoke and the shooting of explosive Tannerite with a high-powered rifle to announce the gender of the baby (Cowan, 2020; Ogilvie, J. 2020;  Silverman & Vera, 2020; National Disaster Education Coalition, 1999; Brian, n.d.).

The picture below shows the number of wildfires that were ablaze and the amount of land that was damaged. In recent years 2017, 2018, and this year, we can see these 3 years are among the top 5 years for the amount of land burned in the last 20 years. Wildfires affect both our health and our environment. It causes the concentration of both outdoor air pollutants such as Particulate matter 2.5 and 10, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde and indoor pollutants to increase as there tend to be low-efficiency particle filtration systems or no particle filtration system indoors (Berkeley Lab, n.d.).

Photo of the top 5 years for acres burnt

Usually, wildfires are hard to put out as winds may encourage the fires to spread. Furthermore, there might not be rain to help to put out the fire. Thus, it may last up for a few weeks to months. This reflects how one mishap has the potential to produce unthinkable amounts of air pollutants. Let alone the amount of relentless efforts by different organizations and the amount of water needed to put out the fire. 

We do know that some of us love to follow trends even though it is at the expense of our health and environment. Just like how even though some gender reveal parties that have the potential to cause a fire hazard, some people are still not discouraged by the risk that it poses. Even if it doesn’t have much risk of causing a wildfire, we should remember that pyrotechnic devices like the ones used in gender reveal parties emit harmful pollutants and may not be ideal for mothers to use or be exposed to. 

More often than not, if negative consequences don’t befall on us, most likely we would still continue indulging in it and follow the trends. It’s only after experiencing the negative effects of it, do we regret our actions and be fearful of doing it again. Hence, I agree with what the comment made by a resident in California, USA about what she thinks would be the most effective way to stop wildfires from happening from gender reveal parties. It may seem like a no-brainer to many of us that we should stop it once and for all to prevent future tragedies. However, despite past similar events occurred from gender reveal parties and the consequences which include the culprits being held responsible for their actions, some of us still refused to learn from other’s mistakes and instead, chose to risk their lives and the lives of others around them. 

(Morales, Victor & Waller, 2020)

I personally think that wildfires as a result of this is totally preventable. Since we can’t stop people from following the trend, I think the government ought to step up to ban or limit the use of products for restricted purposes to prevent wildfires caused by these. Without readily access to such products and to eliminate the inappropriate use of such products, the occurrence of wildfires as a result of these would greatly diminish. Sometimes the solution that we need may not require the most complex or fanciful method. It could simply be to stop people from using it.

Do you have any other innovative or even simplified ways in which we could stop the use of such products which results in the emission of harmful air pollutants? Feel free to share it with us! 

Your environmental buddy,
Zhi Yong

References:

Berkeley Lab. (n.d.). Wildfires. Retrieved from https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/cc-wildfires

Brian, L. (n.d.). The most common ways people spark devastating wildfires in the US. Retrieved from https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/the-most-common-ways-people-spark-devastating-wildfires-in-the-us/433731 

Cowan, J. (2020, September 09). Where the Wildfires Are Burning, and Other Answers You Need. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/article/wildfires-california-oregon-washington.html

Laist. (2020, September 11). El Dorado Fire: More Than 13,000 Acres Burned, Containment Now At 31%. Retrieved from https://laist.com/latest/post/20200910/coronavirus_los_angeles_county_schools_reopening_not_until_november

MSNBC. (2020, September 7). Officials: Gender Reveal Pyrotechnic Sparked California Wildfire. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/xdbZrzEbRfg

Morales, C., Victor, D., & Waller, A. (2020, September 07). A Gender-Reveal Celebration Is Blamed for a Wildfire. It Isn’t the First Time. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/gender-reveal-party-wildfire.html

National Disaster Education Coalition. (1999). Wildfire: Why talk about wildfire? Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/guide/wildfire.html

Ogilvie, J. (2020, September 6). Bobcat Fire, El Dorado Fire Burn Angeles And San Bernardino National Forests. Retrieved from https://laist.com/latest/post/20200906/bobcat_fire_los_angeles_national_forest 

Silverman, H., & Vera, A. (2020, September 08). A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party sparked one of the California wildfires, burning over 8,600 acres. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/07/us/california-fire-el-dorado-gender-reveal-trnd/index.html