Nov. 27 (UPI) -- New video footage of last year's Sawmill Fire in Arizona, which burned nearly 50,000 acres, showed it was started accidentally during a baby gender reveal party.
The U.S. Forest Service released the 50-second video Tuesday, which shows an exploding target in tall dry grass on state-owned land in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains on April 23, 2017.
The Arizona Daily Star received the video, which involved off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent Dennis Dickey, though the Freedom of Information Act.
Dickey, 37, admitted starting the fire with an explosive target he set off to show party guests the gender of the baby his wife was expecting. The blue smoke showed it was a boy.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the fire caused more than $8 million in damage. Dickey entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor violation of U.S. Forest Service regulations and agreed to five years of probation and $8.2 million in restitution.
When the explosive target was shot, it sparked the fire -- which started on state land and spread to private property. High winds swiftly moved the blaze through grassy areas where some 600 firefighters tried to put it out.
"It was a complete accident," Dickey told U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman in court in September, the Daily Star reported. "I feel absolutely horrible about it. It was probably one of the worst days of my life."
