Two fireworks companies that manufactured and supplied the smoke bomb used in the gender reveal mishap that ignited the deadly and destructive El Dorado fire in Yucaipa in 2020 have agreed to pay the federal government $4 million to settle a lawsuit.
The money to be paid by Wholesale Fireworks Corp. and a subsidiary, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, will compensate the U.S. Forest Service for its firefighting costs and damage to the federal land, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Tuesday, June 2.
A third defendant, Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., which sells gender reveal party supplies, agreed to pay $50,000, the release said.
The lawsuit said the companies failed to safely design and label the smoke bombs and did not properly warn customers about the fire risk. The smoke bombs should not have been sold in California, where they are illegal, the lawsuit said.
“The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability,” the release said.
The couple, Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angelina Renee Jimenez, were initially defendants in the lawsuit filed in 2023 but were dropped from the case.
The couple set off the device in El Dorado Ranch Park on Sept. 5, 2020 — a windy, 100-degree day. Sparks jumped into the brush, and flames spread into the San Bernardino National Forest, burning 22,744 acres and damaging or destroying nine structures and 15 outbuildings. Residents in San Bernardino and Riverside counties were forced to flee.
Twelve days after the ignition, Forest Service Big Bear hotshot crew boss Charlie Morton, 39, radioed that he was trapped in a “corner.” His burned body was found hours later.
The Jimenezes were charged with involuntary manslaughter plus seven other felony counts and 22 misdemeanor counts. They maintained that they were not at fault and that the smoke bomb, which they tested at home, malfunctioned.
On Tuesday, District Attorney Jason Anderson said the lawsuit settlement didn’t change his mind about the Jimenezes’ culpability.
“Common sense tells you smoke bombs in September in Southern California on a windy day cause fires,” Anderson said.
In February 2024, Refugio Jimenez pleaded guilty to a felony involuntary manslaughter count and two felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure. He was sentenced to two years of felony probation, one year in county jail and 200 hours of community service.
Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire on another person’s property. She was sentenced to a year of probation and 400 hours of community service.