Couple sentenced in plea deal for sparking deadly El Dorado Fire in gender reveal mishap
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- 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 that accidentally lit nearby grass at the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa.