A couple’s gender reveal that led to a catastrophic wildfire disaster and claimed the life of a firefighter is now getting a massive financial settlement.
Three companies will pay more than $4 million to resolve claims tied to the El Dorado Fire, the deadly 2020 Southern California wildfire scorched thousands of acres.
According to the US Department of Justice, Ohio-based Wholesale Fireworks Corp. and its subsidiary, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, agreed to pay $4 million to settle claims brought on behalf of the US Forest Service.
A third company, Florida-based Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., will pay an additional $500,000.
By the time it was contained, the El Dorado Fire had consumed nearly 23,000 acres and destroyed 10 structures. AFP via Getty Images
The 2020 wildfire was sparked by a gender reveal celebration. Getty Images
The legal action stemmed from the Sept. 5, 2020, blaze that erupted at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa after a pyrotechnic device used during a couple’s gender reveal party ignited dry vegetation.
The fire rapidly spread into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area within the San Bernardino National Forest.
By the time it was contained, the El Dorado Fire had consumed nearly 23,000 acres, destroying 10 structures, and injuring 13 people.
The El Dorado Fire burns a hillside near Yucaipa in the San Bernardino National Forest, California. EPAThe wildfire also killed Big Bear Interagency Hotshots firefighter Charlie Morton, 39, a 14-year veteran of the San Bernardino National Forest who served on an elite wildfire crew deployed across the country to battle some of the nation’s most dangerous blazes.
“He’s fighting a fire that was started because of a smoke bomb,” Jason Anderson, the San Bernardino county district attorney, said of Morton’s death. “That’s the only reason he’s there.”
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The US filed suit against the three companies in September 2023, seeking reimbursement for firefighting expenses and damage to federal land.
Federal officials alleged the companies were responsible because the smoke bomb involved in the incident had been designed, imported, distributed, marketed and advertised by Wholesale Fireworks and American Fireworks Wholesale, while Pink or Blue also distributed, marketed and advertised the product.
Exterior of a Wholesale Fireworks store in Hubbard, Ohio. Hubbard
The fire rapidly spread into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area within the San Bernardino National Forest. AFP via Getty Images“The defendants further allegedly failed to safely design and label the smoke bombs and failed to properly warn customers about the fire risk of the smoke bombs, despite being aware of their dangers. These smoke bombs should never have been sold into California, where they are illegal,” the DOJ release stated.
Separately, the couple who hosted the gender reveal party pleaded guilty in 2024 to criminal charges filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney.
