3 companies to pay more than $4 million after 2020 Inland Empire wildfire caused by gender reveal
Three companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle claims for costs and damages from the El Dorado Fire, which burned more than 22,700 acres and killed one firefighter in the Inland Empire in 2020.
In a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecutors said that Wholesale Fireworks Corp., an Ohio-based smoke bomb design company, and its subsidiary company, American Fireworks Wholesale LLC, agreed to pay $4 million to settle the claims brought forward on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service. They also said that a third defendant, a Florida-based company known as Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims related to the fire.
The blaze erupted in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa on Sept. 5, 2020, when a pyrotechnic device at a couple's gender reveal party caused dry grass to catch fire. The flames then went on to spread to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area in the San Bernardino National Forest, eventually burning 22,744 acres, destroying 10 structures and killing Big Bear Interagency Hotshots firefighter Charlie Morton.
In a lawsuit filed in September 2023, the United States sued the three companies to recover the U.S. Forest Service costs for fighting the fire and the damage that was caused to federal lands. They alleged that the defendants were liable because the fire was caused by the smoke bomb that was designed, imported, distributed, marketed and advertised by Wholesale and AFW, and that was distributed, marketed and advertised by Pink or Blue, according to the DOJ's release.
"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 release said.
In 2024, the couple who held the gender reveal party pleaded guilty to criminal charges filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney.
