After a gender reveal party went tragically wrong — sparking a major wildfire that led to the death of a firefighter — three companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million for their role in the blaze.
At a 2020 celebration in a Yucaipa park, a couple used a pyrotechnic that was supposed to emit blue or pink smoke. The device set off the El Dorado fire, which burned nearly 23,000 acres, damaged or destroyed nine structures, killed U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter Charles Morton, and injured two more firefighters and 13 other people. Hundreds had to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. sued the three companies in September 2023 seeking damages “to recover Forest Service costs for fighting the fire and the damage it caused to federal land.” Now those three companies have settled, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office.
The companies identified as a part of the settlement included the maker of the smoke bomb, Wholesale Fireworks Corp., and its subsidiary, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, which are both based in Ohio. They agreed to pay $4 million in damages, according to the release.
Florida-based Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., a marketer of the device, agreed to pay $50,000.
The companies “failed to safely design and label the smoke bomb” and to adequately “warn customers about the fire risk of the smoke bombs, despite being aware of their dangers,” prosecutors said, noting that the devices were illegal to sell in California and “should never have been sold” in the state.
The couple who deployed the smoke bomb at their gender reveal party agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors and were sentenced in February 2024.
Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. was sentenced to a year in county jail and two years of probation and community service after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the firefighter. Additionally, Jimenez Jr. pleaded guilty to two felony counts of recklessly causing fire to an inhabited structure.
Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire to another’s property and was sentenced to a year summary probation and community service, The Times reported in February 2024.
Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
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