Father in gender-reveal that sparked fatal 2020 California wildfire has pleaded guilty
IMPERIAL — The Imperial Irrigation District has scheduled several public informational workshops in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys in February to help inform its energy customers about the positive changes to their energy bills in 2024.
According to a press release from the Imperial Irrigation District, topics include changes to the energy bill structure (ECA billing costs) and how it will help lower summer bills, updated information on IID’s Average Bill Payment Plan and Residential Energy Assistance Program (REAP), as well as some helpful tips to read your energy bill.
“Some very important, positive changes are in the works for 2024,” IID General Manager Jamie Asbury said in the press release. “The district is working hard to make these changes and, through the public workshops, we hope to be able to connect with more customers, sharing helpful information.”
“Among the most significant changes is the implementation of a more predictable billing model for customers in 2024,” the release reads. “To help shield consumers from spiking summer energy bills, the IID Board of Directors moved to reform the monthly ECA, leveling these charges throughout 2024. As an additional way to mitigate billing spikes, the district is also in the process of transitioning nearly 12,000 customers enrolled in REAP to the Average Bill Payment Plan,” it reads.
Per the release, presentations will be given in English and Spanish. Except where noted, all public workshops begin at 4:00 p.m.
■ Tuesday, February 20 – Fernando “Nene” Torres Council Chambers, 608 Heber Avenue, Calexico. (3:30 p.m. start time).
■ Wednesday, February 21 – William R. Condit Auditorium, 1285 Broadway, El Centro. (Available by livestream and playback at www.iid.com).
■ Thursday, February 22 – Hidalgo Hall, 410 S. Cesar Chavez Street, Brawley.
■ Monday, February 26 – Mecca Community Center, 65-250 Coahuilla Street, Mecca. (5 p.m. start time).
■ Tuesday, February 27 – IID Boardroom, 81600
Ave. 58, La Quinta. (Available by livestream and playback over www.iid.com).
■ Thursday, February 29 – Indio Senior Center, 45700 Aladdin Street, Indio.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. ( AP) — 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.
Strong winds stoked the fire as it ran through wilderness on national forest land, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. Charles Morton, the 39-year-old leader of the elite Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Squad, was killed on Sept. 17, 2020, when flames overran a remote area where firefighters were cutting fire breaks. Morton had worked as a firefighter for 18 years, mostly with the U.S. Forest Service.
On Friday, the San Bernardino County district attorney announced that Refugio Jimenez Jr. had pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure. He will be taken into custody on Feb. 23 to serve a year in jail. His sentence also includes two years of felony probation and 200 hours of community service.
Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another. She was sentenced to a year of summary probation and 400 hours of community service. The couple was also ordered to pay $1,789,972 in restitution.
“Resolving the case was never going to be a win,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said in a news release, offering his condolences to Morton’s family. “To the victims who lost so much, including their homes with valuables and memories, we understand those are intangibles can never be replaced.”
The U. S. Forest Service in September — on the third anniversary of the ignition of the fire — filed a lawsuit against the pyrotechnic device’s manufacturers, distributors and sellers, as well as the couple. The lawsuit alleges that the “Smoke Bombs” used were illegal in California and known to be defective.
Mike Scafiddi, the lawyer for Refugio Jimenez Jr., said the couple has wanted to speak publicly about the fire, its impact on the community and Morton’s death but cannot because of the ongoing federal litigation.
“They have been praying for Mr. Morton and his family every night since his death,” Scafiddi told The Associated Press on Sunday. “It has touched them profoundly.”
The lawyer said his client had researched and tested the pyrotechnic device before setting it off that day, finding no problems online or during his test.
“It was unforeseeable in all minds,” he said.
Scafiddi said the couple had not, contrary to what’s been said publicly for years, hosted a gender-reveal party. He said it was a photo shoot to discover the baby’s gender with the couple, a few relatives and their children.
“To infer that it was a gathering of multiple people with food and celebration is simply incorrect,” he said. “This was simply taking photographs in what was a beautiful backdrop.”
An attorney for Angelina Jimenez did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.