Overview

• On July 15, the Office of the State Fire Marshal suspended the fireworks-handling licenses of Devastating Pyrotechnics CEO Kenneth Chee and Blackstar Fireworks owner Craig Cutright.
• Cal Fire’s Arson & Bomb investigators have completed evidence gathering at the Esparto site and are analyzing materials in off-site labs as part of a multi-agency probe.
• Although federal ATF permits allowed storage of display-grade fireworks in on-site magazines, county zoning never granted the conditional use approvals required for pyrotechnics.
• Records reviewed by investigators show Chee was denied a federal explosives license in the 1990s due to a felony conviction yet continued operating under state fire marshal permits.
• Authorities executed search warrants at Chee’s San Francisco residence and placed Cutright and Yolo County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Sam Machado on administrative leave to preserve investigative integrity.