Two parents who started a massive wildfire during a photo shoot to reveal the gender of their unborn child pleaded guilty Friday to the incident that left a firefighter dead and hundreds of people forced to evacuate.
“The resolution of this case could never have ended in victory. “For the victims who have lost so much, including their homes, valuables and memories, we understand that these intangible assets can never be replaced,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said at the sentencing, according to The Independent.
On Friday, Refugio Jimenez Jr., along with his wife Angelina Jimenez, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and recklessly setting fire to an unoccupied structure after causing a large wildfire in California on September 5, 2020, which left an on-duty firefighter dead the British media.
To announce the gender of their unborn baby, the couple then organized a photo shoot using colorful smoke bombs, which an investigation found were illegal in California.
However, the day was scorching and dry, so despite efforts to control the flames with water bottles, the surrounding bush reportedly caught fire and quickly spread across national forest lands, according to The Independent.
In total, the flames spread to about 93 square kilometers over a period of more than two months, causing the death of firefighter Charles Morton, 13 injuries and hundreds of evacuations.
After pleading guilty, the man would have received a one-year prison sentence, two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
His wife, for her part, reportedly pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent arson and must complete 400 hours of community service.
According to The Independent, the couple will also have to pay a fine of more than $1.7 million in compensation.
For his part, the couple's attorney, Mike Scafiddi, reportedly told the Associated Press that his clients had “prayed for Mr. Morton and his family every night since his death,” which had “deeply affected them.”
According to The Independent, wildfires in California reached record levels in 2020 with more than 9,900 fires burning around 4% of the US state.