3 companies agree to pay $4M after fire sparked during gender reveal in Yucaipa
Also: Three Companies to Pay More Than $4 Million to Settle Lawsuit Stemming from Gender Reveal that Caused Inland Empire Wildfire (U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California)
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Source: NBC Los Angeles
3 companies agree to pay $4M after fire sparked during gender reveal in Yucaipa
The El Dorado Fire ignited when a pyrotechnic smoke device was set off in a field during the party in El Dorado Ranch Park on Sept. 5, 2020.
By Danielle Smith • Published June 2, 2026 • Updated on June 2, 2026 at 9:41 pm
Three companies, including a smoke bomb designer and importer, have agreed to pay more than $4 million to the United States, six years after a deadly wildfire sparked during a gender reveal party on an extremely warm weekend in San Bernardino County, officials said Tuesday.
The El Dorado Fire ignited when a pyrotechnic smoke device was set off in a field during the party in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa on Sept. 5, 2020. It spread to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area of the San Bernardino National Forest, scorching 22,744 acres, damaging or destroying two dozen structures and killing a firefighter, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
In September 2023, the U.S. Forest Service filed a lawsuit against Ohio-based Wholesale Fireworks Corp., its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC and Florida-based Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., alleging they were liable because the smoke bomb was "distributed, marketed, and advertised" by them, as well as designed and imported by Wholesale and AFW.
"The defendants further allegedly failed to safely design and label the smoke bombs and failed to properly warn customers about the fire risk of the smoke bombs, despite being aware of their dangers," the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release. "These smoke bombs should never have been sold into California, where they are illegal."
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Read more: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/settlement-san-bernardino-county-gender-reveal-fire/3898786/
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
Three Companies to Pay More Than $4 Million to Settle Lawsuit Stemming from Gender Reveal that Caused Inland Empire Wildfire
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
LOS ANGELES – An Ohio-based smoke bomb designer and importer, and two other companies have agreed to pay more than $4 million to the United States for costs and damages from the El Dorado Fire of 2020, which was ignited as part of a gender reveal photo shoot, burned nearly 23,000 acres, and caused a firefighter’s death.
Wholesale Fireworks Corp., a Hubbard, Ohio-based company, and its subsidiary, American Fireworks Warehouse LLC, agreed to pay $4 million to settle claims brought on behalf of the United States Forest Service.
A third defendant, Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., a Florida-based company, has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle claims related to the fire.
The fire was ignited on September 5, 2020, by a pyrotechnic device at a couple’s gender reveal party in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. The fire spread to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area of the San Bernardino National Forest, burning a total of 22,744 acres, damaging or destroying nine structures and 15 outbuildings, and killing one firefighter.
The couple responsible for the gender reveal party later pleaded guilty to criminal charges in San Bernardino County Superior Court.
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/three-companies-pay-more-4-million-settle-lawsuit-stemming-gender-reveal-caused-inland
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