Couple whose gender reveal party sparked massive El Dorado Fire sentenced

A couple was sentenced on Friday after they accepted responsibility for starting the deadly El Dorado Fire that burned thousands of acres and took one life, KTLA reported.

The El Dorado Fire, which started in September 2020 and ended in November 2020, was caused by a gender reveal party gone wrong and burned 22,744 acres in San Bernardino and Riverside counties of California.

According to Cal Fire, the enormous fire started as a result of an accident involving a smoke-producing pyrotechnic item at a gender reveal celebration that was conducted in extremely hot weather.

The nearly 23,000-acre blaze destroyed 20 buildings and killed firefighter Charles Morton.

The convicts, Refugio Jimenez Jr and Angelina Jimenez, each pleaded guilty to several charges in San Bernardino County, including three felonies for Refugio.

He pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, while Angelina pleaded guilty to three misdemeanours.

The charges were in connection with the deadly 2020 fire that began at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa.

As a result of the guilty plea, Refugio will serve one year in county jail, two years of felony probation, and 200 hours of community service. He'll be entered into custody on February 23, according to law enforcement officials.

In addition, the Jimenez family was ordered to pay the victims restitution of $1,789,972.