Yolo building officials knew to ‘tread lightly’ years before Esparto explosion
As the investigation into the deadly Esparto fireworks explosion enters its third month, newly released Yolo County records show officials knew fireworks were stored on the property for years but allowed operations to expand with little scrutiny.
The documents reveal county building officials flagged the need for additional precautions before approving a new metal warehouse at the property on County Roads 23 and 86A in 2022. Esparto Fire Protection District Chief Curtis Lawrence assured county staff the property was safe, the trove of emails and other documents show, even though his department never conducted formal inspections.
The building, destroyed in the July 1 blast, was approved for agricultural storage. But records show it lacked basic fire protection systems and was not designed for people to work inside. The property’s owners and their representatives repeatedly told county officials no hazardous materials would be stored in the building, a claim that allowed the project to bypass stricter oversight.
The county released the records Thursday night in direct response to a Public Records Act request made by The Sacramento Bee in July. Attorneys for the county had initially withheld the records, citing concerns from prosecutors that disclosure could jeopardize the criminal investigation by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. They were released only after the threat of litigation.
For years, the Esparto fireworks compound operated with little public oversight. Marketed as a local success story, it became a staging ground for Fourth of July displays and community events across California. The compound housed Devastating Pyrotechnics and BlackStar Fireworks alongside multiple storage magazines.
But after the July 1 explosion killed seven workers and scattered debris across surrounding farmland, that narrative collapsed.
Investigators have yet to say what triggered the blast. Records and interviews show that Devastating and BlackStar operated from a rural site never zoned or equipped for large-scale fireworks storage or assembly.
The involvement of Esparto volunteer firefighter Craig Cutright — a longtime Devastating producer who later founded BlackStar — raised questions about why the site was permitted to hold high-grade explosives without required inspections or permits.
Earlier this month, the Office of the State Fire Marshal permanently revoked fireworks licenses for both companies. Cal Fire said its investigation found “several fireworks laws and regulations were violated — including not filing proper importation documents, not reporting lost fireworks, possession of fireworks without a local fire permit, and numerous additional allegations that remain part of the criminal investigation still underway.”
The new county records provide the clearest account yet of the warehouse at the center of the disaster — a 4,500-square-foot metal structure built in 2022 on property owned by Sheriff’s Lt. Sam Machado and his wife, Tammy.
‘I will tread lightly’
According to county records, Machado and his representatives told officials the building would be used to store farm equipment and almonds. Application materials said no one would work inside the building, which meant fire protection systems such as sprinklers were not required.
The emails paint a vivid picture of several days in June 2022 when county officials appeared ready to cancel or at least impose stricter oversight after realizing they had been misled about an almond-growing operation. That’s when Lawrence, Esparto’s fire chief, intervened — describing the operation that would use the 4,500-square-foot steel warehouse for fireworks that were “safe and sane,” according to the emails.
Photographs later taken by a Devastating Pyrotechnics employee show crates of fireworks stacked floor-to-ceiling inside, towering over a forklift used to move them. Machado’s application never mentioned forklifts or fireworks.
The paperwork further asserted that no hazardous materials would be stored or discharged from the warehouse, avoiding requirements for specialized infrastructure and a hazardous materials plan.
In a 2022 email before inspecting the site, Yolo County Chief Building Official Scott Doolittle told colleagues the property was “being used to run a pyrotechnics business” involving sheriff’s deputies. He noted the company was operating from a warehouse approved for farm equipment storage, alongside 25 shipping containers used for fireworks.
Doolittle also flagged that Machado’s representative, Matt Soderer of Redwood City, had requested more electrical capacity than permitted for an ag-exempt building, another sign the structure might be used for something more hazardous than almond storage.
“I will tread lightly today,” Doolittle wrote. “Then we can discuss how to proceed.”
After visiting the property, Doolittle reported observing “25 Connex shipping containers placed in a long row and used to store the fireworks used for large municipal fireworks displays.”
Later that day, he asked colleagues what additional requirements should apply. County Supervising Hazmat Specialist Moushumi Hasan responded that the operators needed to submit a Hazardous Materials Business Plan — something records show was never filed.
“If the facility is handling new or waste fireworks at or above reportable quantities, then they need to submit a Hazardous Materials Business Plan,” Hasan wrote, adding that such a designation would require regular inspections — inspections that never occurred.
Esparto fire chief vouched for fireworks operators
In another email, Doolittle said Lawrence confirmed the fireworks business was federally licensed and vouched that the containers held “safe and sane” fireworks. “I expect cooperation from the pyro business,” Doolittle wrote after their conversation, citing Lawrence’s assurances that only smaller groups of containers held more dangerous material.
Google Street View shows how the property changed in step with the permitting process. In May 2012, the site was cluttered with tractors and rusting farm equipment. By November 2021, shortly after Machado and his contractor told the county the new warehouse would be for “almond storage,” the lot had been cleared, with dirt piles and stakes marking preparation for construction. By November 2024, the large metal warehouse stood in place, the same building that investigators now believe sat at the center of the deadly fireworks explosion.
This month, Lawrence’s fire station, home and vehicles were searched under a warrant issued by the District Attorney’s Office as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the explosion.
Across more than 300 pages of emails obtained through the records request, claims of a supposed almond business occupying the warehouse lasted more than a year.
When Soderer was told by county officials that drying almonds would require a sprinkler system, he replied that would not be necessary because the almonds would only be spending a few days in the warehouse, and would dry elsewhere.
Soderer did not return calls or text messages asking for comment.
The building was constructed with its original agriculture exemption intact, allowing it be built without a sprinkler system or other code requirements for such a high volume of explosives.
It’s not known if county officials ever confronted the Machados, who both remain on leave with the Sheriff’s Office, about the misrepresentations. A certificate of occupancy describing the structure as “commercial: storage” was issued April 20, 2023.
In a statement released with the records, Yolo County officials stated that “no fireworks or other hazardous materials were observed during the Building Division’s mid-2022 visit. The property owner and building contractor consistently represented that the new building under construction would be used only for agricultural purposes.”
The statement added that “evidence from Google Earth images and media reports suggests that display-grade fireworks storage and handling increased greatly after mid-2022. ... At no time did the county receive any applications or issue any permits, licenses, or other approvals authorizing fireworks storage, handling or other activities on the property.”
The statement said that the county was undergoing an internal review of its code enforcement, processes and staffing.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM.
