Free Republic

The increasingly extravagant celebrations — fueled by a quest for unique, viral stunts — reflect some of the new bizarre pressures parents face in our “attention economy.”

A smoke generating pyrotechnic device used at a gender reveal party was the source of a wildfire in El Dorado, California, that has spread to 7,050 acres as of Sunday, according to California fire officials.

The wildfire that has burned more than 7,000 acres in Yucaipa and surrounding areas was caused by an explosive used during a gender reveal party, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The state agency said the fire started at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa on Saturday morning, when a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device at the party sparked the flames. The wildfire broke out at 10:23 a.m., spreading to areas further north and triggering mandatory evacuations, officials said. Dubbed the El Dorado Fire, it more than doubled in size Sunday as firefighters grappled with challenging weather conditions...

The El Dorado Fire had burned up the south side Yucaipa Ridge above the communities of Oak Glen and the North Bench area of Yucaipa, fire officials said Sunday. After cresting Yucaipa Ridge, the blaze was threatening the communities of Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls. No injuries have been reported. An outbuilding was destroyed on Saturday, but no other damage was reported as of Sunday afternoon even though about 30 homes were threatened by the fire. Evacuation orders have been issued for the communities of Oak Glen, Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village. A portion of North Bench Yucaipa...

A woman is dead and eight other people were wounded — including three kids — after a baby gender-reveal party in Ohio erupted in gunfire Saturday night, according to reports. Among the victims in the Colerain Township shooting was a pregnant woman who lost the baby after receiving a bullet to her leg, a family member told NBC affiliate WLWT. Authorities were searching for the assailant or assailants, who fled after shots rang out at a home around 11:30 p.m. Five of the revelers — one in critical condition, three in fair and one stable — were hospitalized at the...