7 killed in Esparto fireworks blast remembered by their families, community
The series of explosions that leveled a fireworks facility in Esparto claimed the lives of seven people, among them are fathers and a soon-to-be father, brothers and sons.
In the days following the July 1 blasts, Yolo County officials confirmed that seven people remained “unaccounted for.”
More than a week later, authorities have not identified any of those missing, but over the weekend said that remains of the seven have been recovered and await DNA confirmation.
Family members have identified their lost loved ones throughout the week since, shedding light on the people they were and the lives they lived.
Here’s what we know about each of them.
Jesús Ramos, 18
Those who knew Jesús Ramos will remember him as a star athlete, talented artist and social butterfly.
Jesús, 18, was born and raised in the Bay Area, an older brother to a sister and the youngest of four boys. Jesús was of Salvadoran descent, according to photos and posts from a Facebook profile with his mother’s name.
Like his siblings, Jesús attended Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School, said Principal Claudia DeLarios Morán. There, he garnered a reputation as an outgoing child who brought people together.
“He was kind of the life of the party,” she said.
His love of sports shined in school, too.
DeLarios Morán said she remembers Jesús always tossing the football with his friends. He went on to join two older brothers on a youth team and wore No. 42, according to his mother’s Facebook photos and posts. The Los Angeles Times reported that his soccer skills led to him being recruited to play in England.
Jeff Steeno, a middle school mentor for Jesús, said he will remember him for his eighth grade graduation speech. The pair had spent weeks working on the speech before Jesús changed most of it at the “last minute,” Steeno said.
“It was great because it made him regard that three-year journey that he just completed in a different way,” Steeno said.
In high school, Jesús impressed teachers with his art skills. He was a “rock star” with drawing and painting, said Ana Klafter, principal of Independence High School, where Jesús spent two years. He also enjoyed graffiti art.
Jesús graduated from the school last month, Klafter said.
“He had so much potential,” she added.
Jesús leaves behind his parents, older brothers, a younger sister and his pregnant girlfriend, Syanna Ruiz.
Jhony Ramos Jr., 22
Jhony Ramos Jr. grew up the middle child of five close-knit siblings who loved sports, according to family Facebook posts spanning more than a decade. His favorite meal, which he enjoyed on his 13th birthday, was BBQ ribs and chicken wings.
Like his brothers, Jhony was an avid fan of Bay Area teams. Photos from a Facebook profile with his mother’s name routinely show the young boy repping attire from the San Francisco Giants and Niners. His father, in an interview with Telemundo 33, said his sons loved going to football games.
As a child, Jhony joined Jesús on a Pop Warner team called the Daly City Titans. Jhony wore number 25 and played linebacker.
DeLarios Morán called the two boys an inseparable pair, who continued the family’s legacy at Buena Vista. Before they attended, their older brother Ernesto was a student. The brothers’ younger sister later enrolled.
“They were sort of a package deal as a family,” said DeLarios Morán.
Steeno, who was Jhony’s seventh grade teacher, described him as a “horrible student but great person.” The type of boy to break up fights at school and lecture his fellow classmates, Steeno added.
“He was wise without knowing it,” Steeno said.
Jhony, 22, died last week while on his first day on the job. He had a dream of a career in a trade, like his older brother and father who were plumbers.
“I didn’t know they were starting this job,” Steeno said. “I don’t think it was a career. It was just a short term thing.”
Joel ‘Junior’ Melendez, 28
Joel Melendez, better known as Junior or June by loved ones, spent much of his time working to provide for his family. On a Facebook profile with his name, Melendez frequently shared photos and videos of his landscaping company and work as a barber.
In one photo from May 2024, he proudly showed off a Sacramento front yard and said: “#bigcleanup#hotdays#hotboysspring.”
“June is an amazing person when we came to Sacramento we didn’t know a soul, and my husband found him through social media to help us with our lawn before our sons birthday — 4 years later he still does our lawn,” commented a client on Facebook following the explosion. “We trust him he is a good person!”
Other posts indicate Melendez was learning to cut hair. He uploaded a reel of a client with freshly cut hair while saying #stilllearning and #cantstopwontstop.
Melendez was also a loving husband to Maria and father to an 11-month-old son. His wife is expecting another child, according to a GoFundMe for the family. Funds will go toward essential needs, child care as Melendez was the “main provider.”
Melendez, 22, died last week while trying to provide more money for his family.
Neil Justin Li, 41
Neil Justin Li documented intricate fireworks shows he produced and attended, hearty meals in Chinese restaurants and a life spent in between Northern California and China, as shown on a Facebook account appearing to belong to him.
Last November, he posted from Liuyang, a county in Hunan known as the “hometown of fireworks.”
Li, 41, was the general manager of Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to documents included in a 2023 city council report.
A close family friend identified Li as one of the seven missing people and declined interviews out of respect for the family, KCRA reported on Sunday.
A San José State University graduate, Li lived in San Francisco with his wife, according to information posted on social media accounts under his name.
Carlos Rodriguez, 41
Spanish candles, a pack of Swisher Sweets and a bottle of Remy Martin cognac were arranged by a photograph of Carlos Rodriguez wearing a Chicago Bulls jersey.
An image of that display accompanied his wife Tiffany Nolan-Rodriguez’s Facebook post acknowledging his untimely death.
“Please keep in mind that none of us were ever perfect but all of us do what we can with what we’re given,” she wrote. “He loved me and he loved his kids.”
Rodriguez, 41, was among the seven people believed to have died from a series of explosions at a fireworks facility in Esparto.
A family member who organized a GoFundMe raising money for Rodriguez’s family wrote that the incident has “shattered their entire world.”
He left behind a wife and children.
Angel Voller
Angel Voller capped his senior year of high school baseball with a perfect 10-0 record from the mound, leading his Stockton charter school to a Central California Athletic Alliance title while earning the league’s Pitcher of the Year honor, said his coach, Joe Piombo, in a Facebook post.
Voller’s life was cut tragically short as one of seven people who died when the Esparto fireworks facility exploded.
“The first one to tell you he’s not perfect, Angel always worked hard at taking responsibility for his actions and improving himself on the field and in the classroom,” Piombo wrote.
During a church service Sunday morning, Bishop Steve Perea of CWC Life, a church in Manteca, called Voller’s parents, Matt and Lica, and the rest of their family in attendance to stand before the altar.
“For us as a church family, we hurt,” Perea said, as seen on an online recording of the service. “We weep with those who weep, and we mourn with those who mourn.”
Perea ended with a Biblical story about how King David mourned and responded to his own son’s death.
“David said to his servants, ‘My son is gone,’” the pastor said. “‘He can’t come to me. But one day, I’m going to go to him.’”
Hearing those words, Angel’s father Matt clapped and lifted his arms above his head in praise.
Christopher Bocog, 45
Some knew Christopher Bocog, 45, by the moniker “Oopz.” That’s the name the Bay Area man carried as a rapper for his modest side passion.
He was among the seven people who died July 1, 2025, after a series of explosions at a fireworks facility in Esparto.
Social media accounts bearing his name showed fireworks-related content, including posts referencing Devastating Pyrotechnics, dating back at least a couple of years. Some posts showed large fireworks displays in action, and some photos and videos appeared to have been captured at the Esparto property where the incident took place.
His sister Catherine Bocog told KCRA that Christopher, through his job with Devastating Pyrotechnics, had a hand in Chinese New Year’s fireworks shows at Union Square in San Francisco.
“He was a devoted father and partner,” said his wife, in a statement to KCRA.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM.
