3 Companies To Pay $4 Million In El Dorado Fire, Gender Reveal Smoke Bomb Settlement

YUCAIPA, CA — This week, three separate companies have settled for over $4 million in payment for costs and damages of the 2020 El Dorado Fire, sparked by a gender reveal smoke bomb, according to the Department of Justice.

The cause of the deadly 23,oo0 acre blaze was traced to an Ohio-based smoke bomb designer and importer, and two other companies, all of which have agreed to pay more than $4 million to the United States. One firefighter died and two others were injured during the incident that lasted nearly a month.

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Wholesale Fireworks Corp., a Hubbard, Ohio-based company, and its Hudson, Ohio-based subsidiary, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, agreed to pay $4 million to settle claims brought on behalf of the United States Forest Service.

A third defendant, Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., a Florida-based company, has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle claims related to the fire.

The fire was ignited on September 5, 2020, by a pyrotechnic device at a couple’s gender reveal party in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area of the San Bernardino National Forest, burning 22,744 acres and damaging or destroying 9 structures and 15 outbuildings.

"The couple responsible for the gender reveal party later pleaded guilty to criminal charges in San Bernardino County Superior Court," according to the DOJ.

Refugio Jimenez Jr. pleaded guilty to one felony count of involuntary manslaughter for the death of firefighter Charlie Morton and two felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to another’s property, authorities said.

Refugio Jimenez Jr. was sentenced to one year in county jail, two years of felony probation and 200 hours of community service, according to authorities, and Angelina Jimenez was sentenced to one year of summary probation and 400 hours of community service.

The Jimenez’s were also ordered to pay nearly $1.8 million in victims’ restitution, authorities said.

“The Defendants’ reckless conduct had tremendous impact on land, properties, emergency response resources, the displacement of entire communities, and resulted in the tragic death of Forest Service Wildland Firefighter Charles Morton,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said in a new release, adding authorities sought input from the victims regarding the case.

But it was not just the Jimenez family to blame, according to the DOJ.

In September 2023, the United States also sued the three corporate defendants to recover Forest Service costs for fighting the fire and for the damage it caused to federal land.

As the blaze was caused by a gender reveal smoke bomb that was designed, imported, distributed, marketed and advertised by Wholesale and AFW. Pink or Blue also distributed, marketed, and advertised the product, which ignited the dry vegetation and led to a firefighter's death, the DOJ alleged.

The fire ripped through more than 22,680 acres in the Oak Glen and Yucaipa Ridge region of the San Bernardino National Forest and forced nearby residents to evacuate.

Morton, 39, who died as a result of the blaze, was a Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Squad Boss. He served for 14 years in the U.S. Forest Service. Two other firefighters damaged more than a dozen structures and destroyed five homes. The fire burned for nearly one month and took at least six agencies to quell.

"The defendants failed to design and label the smoke bombs safely or to properly warn customers about the fire risk posed by the smoke bombs, despite being aware of their dangers," Assistant United States Attorneys Yujin Chun and Katherine Hikida of the Civil Division stated in the news release. "These smoke bombs should never have been sold in California, where they are illegal."

The DOJ also reminds that any claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.