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Yolo County Recovers Bodies of Seven Workers After Fireworks Warehouse Blast

DNA testing of remains will confirm identities before CAL FIRE’s State Fire Marshal focuses on pinpointing the blast’s origin and cause.

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Traffic on Interstate 80 in San Pablo, California, US, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. About 61.6 million Americans will drive this Independence Day holiday, up 2.2% over last year, according to AAA. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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.