A man who ignited a 22,000-acre fire that killed a firefighter and burned down homes in California will spend one year in county jail after pleading guilty.
Refugio Jimenez Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, the San Bernardino district attorney said on Friday. In addition to jail time, Jimenez will be responsible for 200 hours of community service and will serve two years felony probation.
“Resolving the case was never going to be a win,” San Bernardino County district attorney Jason Anderson said in a press release . “The Defendants’ reckless conduct had tremendous impact on land, properties, emergency response resources, the displacement of entire communities, and resulted in the tragic death of Forest Service Wildland Firefighter Charles Morton.”
On Sept. 5, 2020, Jimenez and his wife Angelina Jimenez set off a pyrotechnic device to reveal the gender of their new baby with pink or blue smoke at a family gathering in El Dorado Ranch Park at the base of the San Bernardino mountains, around 22 miles outside of downtown San Bernardino.