5 takeaways from The Bee’s new investigation of the deadly Esparto fireworks blast

Attorney General Rob Bonta in August rebuffed a request from Yolo County officials to take over the investigation into the July 1 deadly fireworks explosion in Esparto and pointed to his confidence in Cal Fire to lead the investigation.

“We understand that CAL FIRE — not the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office — is currently leading the investigation of this incident. We are confident CAL FIRE is able to conduct a complete, thorough and unbiased investigation,” Bonta wrote in an Aug. 8 letter to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.

But a new investigation by The Bee reveals fireworks experts are questioning whether Cal Fire ignored warning signs that pointed to the Esparto compound as a potential tinderbox.

The Bee’s latest investigation, published Nov. 11, reported investigators found over 100,000 pounds of illegal fireworks at a Los Angeles-area warehouse in the city of Commerce — and that many of those fireworks, they were told, belonged to the same company whose headquarters was part of the Esparto compound. The explosion in Esparto a little more than a month after the Commerce raid killed seven people.

Here are five key takeaways from the investigation. The full story is here.

1. According to multiple sources, fireworks seized on May 21 in Commerce belonged to Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, one of the companies headquartered at the Esparto site. Johnny Chek, who operated an import business from the Commerce warehouse, told investigators he allowed Chee — a longtime friend — to store fireworks there, Chek’s attorney Randy Roxson said. Roxson said investigators were given a copy of Chee’s fireworks license and import records, which showed the fireworks were Chee’s.

2. Authorities knew about the illegal fireworks in Commerce even before the May 21 raid.

Roxson said that Cal Fire had evidence of Chee’s dangerous fireworks in Commerce three weeks before the raid because of an anonymous tip. On May 2, Cal Fire Arson and Bomb Inspector Nick Schroeder conducted an inspection of the Commerce warehouse and was told the fireworks he discovered were Chee’s.

3. Despite Cal Fire being told that Chee was storing dangerous fireworks in Southern California, Chee’s company continued to store fireworks in Esparto.

One expert told The Bee authorities should have made a connection between the Commerce raid and the fireworks stored in Esparto. “This raid raised a lot of red flags that should have led regulators to Esparto before this tragedy happened months later,” Charley Weeth, a fireworks and pyrotechnics safety expert, told The Bee.

4. A routine fireworks stand inspection occurred in Esparto on the same day as the explosion.

In an eerie coincidence, a state inspector visited a fireworks stand selling legal consumer fireworks near the Esparto fire station, with proceeds benefitting youth sports. The inspection reassured Natasha Lopez, who was working at the stand that day, about community safety. “It was comforting having someone from the state fire marshal in town. We trusted that everyone was doing their job,” she said. Within five hours of that inspection, explosions rocked the town and surrounding farmland.

5. A man has been arrested in connection with the Esparto explosion.

Investigators from Cal Fire and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office investigating the Esparto blast searched a home in East Los Angeles last month. They arrested the homeowner, Luis Acosta, and confiscated a trove of fireworks and other explosive materials. The discovery of the fireworks prompted the evacuation of a local high school.

This story was originally published November 16, 2025 at 5:00 AM.