Remains identified as missing firefighter from 2020 fire

Remains found late last year in the San Bernardino Mountains in California have been positively identified as Carlos Baltazar, a US Forest Service firefighter who went missing during the El Dorado Fire in 2020, county officials have confirmed.

An investigation began in October last year when a hunter discovered a human remains in a remote part of the mountains near Highway 18.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department confirmed that the identification of Baltazar, a 39-year-old from La Puente, was made using DNA. The cause of death remained undetermined.

El Dorado Fire, Sept 11, 2020
El Dorado Fire, Sept 11, 2020. InciWeb.

As reported by Wildfire Today at the time, Baltazar was a member of the Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Crew in September 2020 that fought the El Dorado Fire, sparked after a gender reveal party gone wrong. Charles Morton, serving as the squad boss for the crew, died in the fire, and Baltazar’s family told local media that Baltazar had seemed depressed in the days after Morton’s death and went missing the week after.

The deadly El Dorado Fire scorched nearly 23,000 acres after erupting in September 2020.

A California couple pleaded guilty after accepting a plea deal to take responsibility for the blaze that was sparked by the gender reveal. The male pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, while the female pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. He was sentenced to one year in a county jail, two years felony probation and 200 hours of community service. In addition, the family was ordered to pay victims’ restitution of $1,789,972.

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2 thoughts on “Remains identified as missing firefighter from 2020 fire”

  1. I very glad they found Carlos Baltazar, rest in peace.

    Ok. A “Baby Reveal?” That starts a 23,000 acre fire and claims the lives of Two Hotshot Firefighters, Charles Morton and Carlos Balzazar; rest in peace. Thanks for this article to remind me how ignorant some people can be. Lets just dial the baby reveal stuff back to a pink or blue colored ribbon.

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  2. I remember reading and seeing on TV the gender reveal party that caused enormous damage and a massive forest fire due to irresponsible people and their carelessness! The fine of one million seven hundred thousand dollars for restitution is not enough, it should have been much, much higher and they should have gotten a very long prison sentence at hard labor!!! If another massive fire occurred they should have been pulled out of prison and put right on the front line of the forest fire so they can experience the irresponsibly of their actions. Do that to those irresponsible people and the public will understand the consequences of their actions!!! We have to stop being easy with lawbreakers and be very harsh with them and this nonsense will stop!!!

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