Companies that sold a gender-reveal fireworks device that helped ignite the El Dorado wildfire in southern California have agreed to a settlement, according to US officials. The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California says the case centers on a pyrotechnic device linked to a couple’s gender-reveal stunt that is described as an illegal device. The wildfire, known as the El Dorado blaze, burns 22,744 acres and results in the death of a firefighter.
Under the settlement announced by federal prosecutors, Wholesale Fireworks Corp., based in Hubbard, Ohio, and its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC will pay more than $4 million. A third company, Pink or Blue Gender Team Inc., based in Miami, also reaches an agreement, with a smaller payment reported by outlets covering the case.
The terms and distribution of the funds are not detailed in the available summaries, but the settlement is presented as resolving claims related to the alleged role of the companies’ products in the wildfire’s start. The announcements come nearly six years after the incident.
