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Nov. 27, 2018 / 1:37 PM GMT
By Kalhan Rosenblatt
Video of the gender reveal party that sparked the massive Sawmill Fire, causing $8 million in damage in Arizona last year, has been released by the U.S. Forest Service.
Dennis Dickey, 37, of Tucson, Arizona, revealed his wife was carrying a baby boy by shooting a target filled with a colorful substance, which would burst out in pink or blue.
But the target shot by Dickey, a Border Patrol agent who was off-duty at the time, also contained tannerite, a highly explosive substance.
In the video, which was released following a Freedom of Information Act request made by NBC News affiliate KVOA, the target appears to be in a field of dry grass before the gunshot causes it to erupt in flames.
Blue smoke is seen leaving the target as fire seems to instantly spring to life in the grassy area nearby.
A figure in the video, which has been blocked out by the U.S. Forest Service, runs over to the burning area, and a voice off-camera can be heard shouting, “Start packing up!”
The Sawmill fire went on to burn nearly 47,000 acres, including swaths of Coronado National Forest, federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The fire also required approximately 800 firefighters to contain the blaze that burned over the course of a week in April 2017, according to Tucson.com.
In September, Dickey pleaded guilty to causing the fire and was sentenced to five years probation, according to Tucson.com.
In pleading guilty, Dickey also agreed to pay more than $8.1 million in restitution with an initial payment of $100,000.
Although he agreed to the $8.1 million restitution sum, it’s unclear if Dickey will pay the total amount. Local reports suggested Dickey will pay $500 a month for the next 20 years, for a total fine of $220,000.
