Overview
- All seven individuals reported missing in the July 1 Devastating Pyrotechnics warehouse explosion in rural Esparto have been located, bringing recovery operations to a close.
- Yolo County Coroner’s Division teams accessed the site over the weekend and have begun DNA testing to formally identify the recovered remains.
- CAL FIRE’s Office of the State Fire Marshal, assisted by ATF and regional bomb squads, is leading the origin and cause investigation at the scene.
- The agriculture-zoned property lacked the conditional use permits and required placarding for commercial fireworks storage, exposing regulatory and oversight failures.
- A separate July 3 incident in Simi Valley saw illegally stored fireworks detonate in a garage, killing one person and highlighting ongoing residential pyrotechnics dangers.