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Three companies will pay more than $4 millionto resolve claims tied to the catastrophic El Dorado Fire, the 2020 Southern California wildfire sparked by a gender reveal celebration thatclaimed the life of a firefighter and 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 millionto 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.
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 and destroyed 10 structures.
The wildfire alsokilled Big Bear Interagency Hotshots firefighterCharlie Morton.
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.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
