A man whose family's gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said.

A man whose family’s gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Friday.

The El Dorado Fire erupted on Sept. 5, 2020, when Refugio Jimenez Jr. and Angelina Jimenez and their young children staged a photo shoot for their baby gender reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains.

A smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass on a scorching day. The couple frantically tried to use bottled water to douse the flames and called 911, authorities said.

  • Bibliotectress@lemmy.world
    131·
    11 months ago

    No one should get any time for abortion, but it’s not like this man and woman are hardened criminals. They bought into a fad, did what they saw LOTS of other people doing, and tried their best to put out a fire they couldn’t put out. They fucked up, someone died, and lots of lives are changed forever. Over a million dollars in fines, some jail time, probation, and lots of community service doesn’t seem inappropriate to me. I feel bad for the family of the guy who died doing his job, and I feel bad for all the people who lost their homes and probably some pets, but… I guess I don’t understand how much more you need to feel like justice was done.