Companies that sold gender-reveal fireworks which ignited California wildfire agree to $4m settlement

Nearly six years after a gender-reveal stunt sparked a deadly wildfire in Southern California, the companies that supplied the pyrotechnic device have agreed to pay more than $4 million in a settlement. Wholesale Fireworks Corp and its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC will pay the bulk of the settlement, with a third company, Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc, contributing $50,000.

The payments address civil claims filed on behalf of the US Forest Service following the El Dorado fire. This blaze scorched 22,744 acres, destroyed nine structures and over a dozen outbuildings, and resulted in an estimated $41 million in damages. The fire also led to the death of veteran Forest Service firefighter Charles Morton, 39, who died 12 days into battling the blaze as it spread into the San Bernardino National Forest.

Federal prosecutors had argued that the devices should not have been sold in California, where they are illegal, and criticized the companies for inadequate warnings about the fire risk. They contended the companies were liable for the smoke bombs' design, importation, distribution, marketing, and advertising, alleging an unsafe design.

This settlement concludes a legal chapter that also involved criminal charges against the couple who inadvertently started the fire on September 5, 2020. Refugio Jimenez Jr and Angela Renee Jimenez pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Refugio Jimenez received a one-year jail sentence and two years of probation, while Angela Jimenez was sentenced to one year of probation. The couple was also ordered to pay nearly $1.8 million in restitution.