Yolo Board of Supervisors declare local emergency after Esparto fireworks explosion
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- Yolo County declared local emergency after deadly fireworks explosion July 1.
- Cal Fire leads investigation with state and federal support into explosion cause.
- Supervisors request disaster aid for damaged homes, farms and local businesses.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously declared a local state of emergency following a fireworks warehouse explosion and fire that damaged multiple buildings and killed at least seven people who have yet to be identified.
The July 1 incident sparked at a pyrotechnics facility damaged crops, buildings and other properties within a half mile of the fire that cast a mushroom cloud over the region. An investigation into the cause of the explosion, dubbed the Oakdale Fire, is led by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, a division of Cal Fire.
The investigation, recovery efforts and cleaning of debris will “continue for an unknown but likely extended period of time and will require continued collaboration by various local, state and federal agencies,” according to the emergency proclamation. Flames spread to 80-acres and caused spot fires.
Supervisors also requested federal and state agencies provide disaster response, law enforcement, investigative, financial and other assistance. This help was requested to be given to the county, residents, farmers and business owners, according to the emergency proclamation.
County officials and investigators have declined to answer questions about the building’s proper permits and the potential involvement of local law enforcement in the blast.
Cal Fire, investigating the incident with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Cal-OSHA, did not come to a news conference Monday.
The property is owned by a Yolo County sheriff’s deputy Lt. Sam Machado, according to public records. Craig Cutright, a volunteer firefighter with the Esparto Fire District, reportedly owned a company that operated out of the site.
Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks operated out of the site, according to previous Bee reporting.
On Tuesday, a husband and wife came to the supervisors meeting to raise concerns about the lack of answers from county officials.
Marian Flanders, 79, wondered about the potentially noxious chemicals that spread as a result of the explosion into crops and air. When the explosion ripped through Esparto, Flanders thought someone had dropped a bomb over her neighborhood.
“When you have a bomb go off in your neighborhood, you just sort of feel shaken to the roots,” she said.
The Yolo County Coroner’s Office has begun DNA testing on the remains.