Maps and videos reveal how deadly California fireworks explosion unfolded

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

As the afternoon sun dipped on July 1, a stockpile of fireworks ignited on a remote farm, causing a massive, ground-shaking explosion that killed seven people in the Yolo County town of Esparto.
Mystery property
The facility was located on County Road 23, just south of the town, and included an assortment of farm storage buildings and containers, a swimming pool and a pair of houses. The property is zoned for agriculture. Yolo County officials said they were surprised to learn that two fireworks companies held thousands of pounds of explosives at the site.
Where fireworks were allowed
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had approved licenses for Devastating Pyrotechnics to store display-grade fireworks, which are used in professional shows, in seven metal storage containers. Those containers are situated along an agricultural field on the northern edge of the property, according to maps reviewed by the Chronicle. The nearest container was about a third of a mile away from the buildings that blew up on Jan. 1. The company was not permitted to hold the display fireworks in the buildings on the main part of the property.
Seconds before 5:49 p.m., a neighbor's livestock surveillance camera captured an initial blast in the distance, which rattled the buildings and sent horses and a herd of goats fleeing. Along with the flame and smoke, the footage showed colorful sprays of fireworks.
Across town, a firefighter called in the explosion to the Yolo County Fire Protection District dispatch center, saying: 'Explosion west of town. Might be fireworks facility,' according to audio reviewed by the Chronicle. The fire department dispatcher, fielding 911 calls from concerned residents, first sent fire crews to the scene of what was believed to be an 'airplane down and large fireworks in the field.'
Simultaneously, a firefighter from Winters, a town 14 miles to the south, told dispatch he felt the blast. Another firefighter reported a fire in a wheat field a mile from the explosion sparked by flaming debris.
Neighbor documents the blast
Niza Gutierrez, her husband and daughter were relaxing on the front porch of their Esparto ranch when an explosion made them jump up.
'At first I thought it was a bomb from how it sounded and felt,' Gutierrez said, adding that a concussion wave followed the boom. 'I got scared and told my daughter to go inside. Then I saw all the fireworks and realized it wasn't a bomb.'
She whipped out her phone and recorded the smoke swelling into a mushroom cloud. Debris sprayed out from the column of smoke. Gutierrez said she had no idea there was a fireworks facility nearby and initially thought Esparto had launched its Fourth of July celebration early.
Satellite image
The initial blast was so enormous a weather satellite detected it from thousands of miles above earth.
Helicopter footage
A KCRA news helicopter arrived above the property at 6:20 p.m. and began filming the devastation. The entire west side of the property was engulfed in flames and shrouded by thick black smoke. The storage containers, which were the only areas permitted to hold display-grade fireworks, appeared undamaged. Burning debris from the blast was strewn across the site as well as neighboring properties, starting new fires.
Debris field
Long metal storage containers were ablaze and fireworks exploded in and around them. The trailers appeared blown open.
Another explosion
By 6:41 p.m., with the television helicopter filming above, another fireball erupted near the area of the initial blast.
A Yolo County sheriff's deputy radioed that other parts of the property were packed with combustibles and poised to explode. 'The main house is just catching fire now,' he said, 'there's a lot of ammunition in there.'
One industry expert, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid professional repercussions, said they watched the viral explosion footage. They said it appeared to show display grade fireworks, the most explosive type only available to licensed professionals.
'I've watched that video over and over and over again and … there is no way that is (safe and sane) fireworks,' the expert said, referring to smaller devices like sparklers and fountains.
The schedule of coming events was potentially a factor as well. The blast led to cancellations of at least a dozen displays the company had been planning in the region.
'Things get very chaotic with companies during the Fourth of July,' the expert continued. 'Did he have fireworks sitting there in trucks getting ready to move out over the next few days?'
Damaged warehouse
The two major blasts were so big that they collapsed walls of the warehouse on the west side of the property, as shown in the KCRA footage around 6:58 p.m. The raging fires appeared to set off the fireworks and caused the roof to buckle.
Third explosion
Minutes after the warehouse caught fire, the news helicopter captured another giant explosion and mushroom cloud. The warehouse was not licensed to store fireworks.
A TikTok user posted footage of the third explosion, showing a fully engulfed property spewing dark smoke. Suddenly, a plume of white smoke rose and a loud crack erupted amid the darkness. 'Oh my God!' she repeated. Crackles of color from fireworks were seen at the base of the explosion.
All gone
Little remained on the Esparto property other than ash and a swimming pool. Seven people died and two were injured in the blasts and blaze. Investigators said no cause had immediately been determined as local, state and federal officials surveyed the damage, including an 80-acre brush fire the explosion started.
Families identified many of those killed as Devastating Pyrotechnics employees, including the general manager. The Chronicle reported that CEO and owner Kenneth Chee, a 48-year-old optician, ran the company despite being denied a federal license to acquire and possess fireworks. Two years ago, federal authorities approved a license for another man, Gary Chan Jr. of San Francisco, to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics, documents show. Chee successfully obtained three fireworks licenses from the Office of the State Marshal to import and export materials, sell fireworks and launch public displays, all on behalf of Devastating Pyrotechnics and in his name.
An attorney for Chee and the company declined to comment. The company posted a message on its website expressing sympathy to the victims.