A California couple whose gender reveal party sparked a deadly wildfire pled guilty to charges including manslaughter this week, while wildlife officials begged people to stop holding destructive events in National Parks.
On September 5, 2020, Refugio and Angelina Jimenez ignited a pyrotechnic device for a photo shoot at their gender reveal party in El Dorado Ranch Park in the eastern foothills of the San Bernadino mountains. The device sparked a fire that spread to 22,744 acres including a section of San Bernadino National Forest, burning for 71 days. The wildfire destroyed 20 properties, injuring 13 and killing one firefighter.
