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When Dennis Dickey, an officer of the United States Border Patrol of Arizona, fired on a target filled with colored powder, he was expecting to know the sex of his future child, his lawyer said.
Instead, the target burst and set off a fire that devastated more than 45,000 acres of land and caused over $ 8 million in damages, the Arizona state prosecutor's office announced.
On Friday, Mr. Dickey pleaded guilty to violating the US Forest Service's regulations for triggering what is now known as the Sawmill Fire, which began on May 23. April 2017 and was fought by about 800 firefighters for about a week.
The fire began when Mr. Dickey was on leave near Green Valley, Arizona, about 26 km south of Tucson, to celebrate his wife's pregnancy, said his lawyer, Sean Chapman, at the Arizona Daily Star. .
Mr. Dickey fired at a target containing Tannerite, a highly explosive substance designed for use by long-range shooters. The substance, placed with colored and powdered packets, can fill the air with colored residues for gender-revealing parties: blue for boys or pink for girls.
Mr. Dickey fired a rifle at the target and the resulting explosion sparked a fire that spread to the Coronado National Forest, authorities said. Mr. Dickey immediately reported the fire and admitted that he had started it, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Strong winds made it difficult to contain fire and tall grass and scrub powered. It took more than a week for the firefighters to extinguish it completely.
Friday in court, Mr. Dickey told an American investigating judge that the fire had been "a complete accident," according to the Daily Star. "I feel absolutely horrible about it. It was probably one of the worst days of my life, "he said.
Mr. Dickey, who is still a border police officer, and his attorney could not be reached for comments on Monday.
Tannerite is an explosive compound composed of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. It has become an increasingly popular method for genre revelations, which began with cake cutting or balloon release and has evolved in recent years towards approaches that make noise. The videos posted online show people firing at boxes or containers that burst into clouds of blue or pink dust.
But revealing gender celebrations of all kinds are not always going according to plan. In a video posted on YouTube in 2016, a family stands under a box, waiting for balloons to fall fall on them. In another case, a man was hit in the face by a bullet filled with blue powder.
There was also a couple who sent people jostling after lighting fireworks that fired into a crowd. People have also criticized the tendency to reaffirm gender stereotypes.
As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Dickey agreed to serve a five-year probation sentence and make a public service announcement with the Forest Service on the cause of the sawmill fire. He also agreed to pay the restitution, starting with an initial payment of $ 100,000 and monthly payments after that, officials said.
He must appear in court for an award later this month.
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