Overview

• On July 18 the Yolo County Board of Supervisors formally requested Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to join Cal Fire in leading the origin and cause investigation into the July 1 fireworks warehouse explosion that killed seven people.
• State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant suspended the pyrotechnics licenses of Kenneth Chee and Craig Cutright for 30 days pending administrative hearings.
• District Attorney Jeff Reisig and Sheriff Tom Lopez supported the board’s appeal, citing a strong public perception of conflicts after it emerged that the warehouse was owned by a sheriff’s lieutenant and his spouse who works in the sheriff’s office.
• Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal continues to oversee evidence collection alongside Cal-OSHA, the ATF and local agencies as unexploded ordnance is safely disposed of and samples are sent for off-site analysis.
• The Department of Justice has not yet responded to the county’s request, leaving local officials awaiting confirmation of when state investigators will assume a larger role.