Two Ohio-based companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle claims stemming from a catastrophic wildfire ignited by a gender-reveal stunt in California nearly six years ago. A Miami-based firm will contribute an additional $50,000 to resolve the case.
Wholesale Fireworks Corp and its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC marketed and sold the pyrotechnic device that sparked the El Dorado fire on September 5, 2020. Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc, the third defendant, settled separately for the smaller amount. Federal prosecutors in California's central district announced the agreement on Tuesday.
The blaze consumed 22,744 acres across El Dorado Ranch park and the San Bernardino National Forest, destroying nine structures and numerous outbuildings. The Forest Service estimates total damage exceeded $41 million. More significantly, firefighter Charles Morton, a 39-year-old veteran, died 12 days into suppression efforts.
A couple launched smoke bombs at a photo shoot to announce their baby's sex, but the devices ignited dry grass in rapid succession. Federal authorities argued the companies bore responsibility for designing, importing, distributing and marketing the devices. Prosecutors said the smoke bombs should never have been sold in California, where they are prohibited, and faulted the sellers for failing to include adequate fire-hazard warnings on the products.
Refugio Jimenez Jr and Angela Renee Jimenez, the couple who organized the event, pleaded guilty in 2024 to involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Refugio Jimenez received one year in jail and two years' probation, while Angela Jimenez was sentenced to one year of probation. A San Bernardino County court also ordered them to pay nearly $1.8 million in restitution.
Gender-reveal celebrations have escalated dramatically over the past decade, moving from simple cake cuttings and balloon releases to increasingly dangerous stunts involving firearms, aircraft and exotic animals. The trend has produced a string of catastrophic failures.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent ignited the Arizona Sawmill fire in 2017 when he shot an explosive target during a gender-reveal party in the Santa Rita mountains. A 56-year-old Iowa woman was killed by shrapnel from an improperly constructed pipe bomb used for another reveal in 2019. That same year, a small plane crashed in Texas after it malfunctioned while attempting to dump hundreds of gallons of pink-dyed water for a gender announcement; both occupants survived.
Even the person widely credited with originating the trend has disavowed it. Jenna Karvunidis held the first gender-reveal party in 2008 but posted a Facebook message in 2019 expressing regret over the phenomenon she helped create. "Who cares what gender the baby is?" she wrote.
Author James Rodriguez: "The settlement is overdue accountability, but no dollar amount restores a firefighter's life or the scorched landscape."
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