The origin of a fire that led to the evacuation of 30 homes and burned more than 47,000 acres in southern Arizona and parts of California was revealed on Tuesday in a video obtained by The Arizona Star.
The source of the fire was revealed to have been caused by border agent Dennis Dickey during a gender reveal party, held to announce the sex of his and his wife’s baby before his birth. The Star reports that:
‘[Dickey] pleaded guilty Sept. 27 in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of causing a fire without a permit.
‘The wildfire began when Dickey shot a target that contained Tannerite, an explosive substance designed to detonate when shot by a high-velocity firearm, U.S. Forest Service Special Agent Brent Robinson wrote in an affidavit filed Sept. 20 in U.S. District Court. The explosion was caught on film by a witness.’
A gender-reveal party is behind the massive 2017 Sawmill Fire in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/zwZc6oi6mF
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) November 27, 2018
USA Today reports that:
‘Nearly 600 firefighters and related crews worked the fire, which forced over 100 people to evacuate their homes and caused $8 million worth of damage, previous reports show.
‘As part of a plea agreement, Dickey agreed to a sentence of five years’ probation and to pay restitution totaling more than $8.1 million. He agreed to make an initial $100,000 payment and monthly payments thereafter, officials said.’
Video has surfaced of the moment an explosion started the Sawmill Fire that damaged more than 45,000 acres of land in Arizona in April 2017. https://t.co/zY44BSNvKs
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) November 27, 2018
Dickey, who was off-duty at the time of the party, used Tannerite to create the explosion. He reported the fire to authorities immediately and admitted to being the cause of the fire.
Peak 2018 https://t.co/OVsHX13Dog
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 27, 2018
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
