SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A man whose family's gender reveal ceremony sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Friday.
A smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass on a scorching day.
On Friday, the San Bernardino County district attorney announced that Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. had pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure.
Photos You Should See View All 21 ImagesAngelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another.
Flames blackened nearly 36 square miles (92 square kilometers) of land in San Bernardino and Riverside counties before the blaze was contained on Nov. 16, 2020.
Persons:
Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr, Angelina Jimenez, Charles Morton, Morton, Jason Anderson, “
Organizations:
BERNARDINO, Calif, El, Big Bear Interagency, U.S . Forest Service, San, San Bernardino National
Locations:
Southern California, El Dorado, El, Ranch, Yucaipa, San Bernardino Mountains, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, San Bernardino, Riverside, California