Couple Fined $1.8M In Fatal CA Gender Reveal Wildfire

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports:

A couple whose botched gender reveal sparked the deadly El Dorado Fire in 2020 has agreed to a plea deal that includes jail time, community service and nearly $1.8 million in restitution, officials announced Friday. The El Dorado Fire burned through nearly 23,000 acres in the Inland Empire in the fall of 2020, destroying some 20 buildings and leading to the death of one firefighter.

Investigators determined the fire was sparked on Sept. 5 when Refugio Manuel Jimenez, Jr. and Angelina Renee Jimenez set off a smoke bomb as part of a gender-reveal photoshoot. Refugio was was sentenced to two years felony probation, 365 days in county jail and 200 hours of community service. Angelina was sentenced to one year summary probation, and 400 hours of community service.

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Couple whose gender-reveal mishap sparked deadly El Dorado Fire agrees to plea deal – sentenced to jail, community service and restitution https://t.co/9o0d8r5OzZ

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 10, 2024

On February 9, 2024, our office reached a resolution with defendants Refugio Manuel Jimenez, Jr. and Angelina Renee Jimenez for conduct that caused the El Dorado Fire in September 2020.https://t.co/IoUsp5T4tr pic.twitter.com/oPG9tffGTC

— San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office (@sbcountyda) February 10, 2024