Maps and videos reveal how deadly California fireworks explosion unfolded
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
32 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Memoir ‘Hotshot' exposes harassment, hardship and hope in wildland firefighting
When River Selby signed up at age 19 to become a wildland firefighter, the decision wasn't driven by a search for adventure or opportunities to be a hero. Instead, Selby was running away — from a tough, feral adolescence during which they had been a homeless runaway – including a terrifying stretch in San Francisco at 16 — as well as a sex worker, a stripper, a rape victim and a heroin user before deciding on a whim to try firefighting. Selby's absorbing new memoir, 'Hotshot: A Life on Fire,' takes readers inside the decade they spent fighting raging fires in the West, including four years on the most elite, almost entirely male, 'hotshot' crews in Utah and Sequoia National Forest that conduct the initial attack on extreme fires. Selby describes finding a newfound calm and stability being out in the wilderness for 16 hours a day, up to 21 days in a row, with an important job to do. But 'Hotshot' also details the trauma of being objectified, tokenized and incessantly judged and harassed. Interwoven throughout the narrative are Selby's deeply researched historical examinations of U.S. fire policy and its shortcomings. As California residents have learned the hard way, excessive fire suppression has worsened wildfire seasons. Since 2005, fires in the Western U.S. have more than doubled in size. Selby spoke with the Chronicle by phone from Tallahassee, Fla., about their experience of fighting fire while also fighting to be seen as a whole person. A: Yeah. It's wild reflecting on it now. I bounced around when I was younger. I ran away for the first time when I was 12, and my mom handed me cash and said good luck. I had been homeless off and on as a teenager, and had used drugs from a very young age. Everything I did as a human was defense; There was no offense. I didn't even know what the job would be, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I was lucky that first season in 2000 was a really busy (fire) season. She was right. It did distract me, for sure. Q: Elite wildland firefighting is an almost exclusively male world, and you describe how being the only woman, or one of a few, on a crew took a toll on you. Can you talk about how you were perceived and how that affected you? A: It was this dual experience of wanting to be seen outside of being a sexual object, but also internally not having been allowed in my life to be identified outside of that. I had learned to objectify myself and had internalized a lot of misogyny. I was constantly in this bind where I was trying to prove myself, working twice as hard as many of the guys, while also navigating the kinds of attention I was getting on the crew and dealing with the fallout from the ways in which I engaged with some of the guys. You know, men sleep with people on their crew all the time, but it's always the women facing the fallout. Q: Do you think things have gotten better for women firefighters today? A: Throughout the process of writing and researching, I was surprised to learn that they really haven't. Now that I've started talking about the book, I've heard from other women who've told me they thought they alone had this experience. Two women messaged me saying they left fire for similar reasons. Q: Because of harassment? Q: Looking back, what did you love about firefighting? You describe learning to confidently set fire yourself with a blowtorch (to control a burn area) as the moment you fell in love with being a hotshot. A: I loved working outside. I loved the camaraderie with the guys that I did connect with. It taught me such a work ethic. And it was a beautiful experience to lay fire on the ground, and to be able to predict what it's going to do. I can maybe just begin to understand why for Indigenous people it's not only an agricultural tool, but something that is powerful culturally in spiritual life. Kind of like a surfer who can predict the waves, when you're working with fire and know it's going to regenerate the land, it's an incredible experience. Q: There's an irony running through your book, that when you were fighting fires, you were starting to understand that fire shouldn't always be seen as the enemy. A: Right. Fire is naturally a part of all of our landscapes in the U.S., especially anthropogenic fire. Humans in North America have been tending the land with fire for thousands of years. Many landscapes need fire to be able to regenerate in a way that's healthy for them, and none of that was part of my training. As a federal firefighter, we would always burn in the same way despite how different these landscapes were and what they might require. Q: When a catastrophic fire hits California, like this year in the Palisades, and it receives a lot of media attention, is there anything you would like people to know that might get lost in the coverage? A: I think one thing the general public or media gets wrong is this idea that we need to somehow stop fire altogether from happening in these places. It's actually quite the opposite. More frequent fire on micro levels is needed in these places. There need to be lower barriers to nonprofits and Indigenous groups burning and doing mitigation, and more funding for homeowners of all economic statuses to be able to clear defensible space around their houses. Q: There are Indigenous tribes advocating to bring healthy fire back to California. Are you hopeful that these efforts will make real progress? A: It's one of the reasons I wrote my book, because Indigenous people give me hope. They're working so hard, in so many different places, to bring fire back. These groups need more funding and they need to be allowed to lead fire suppression, instead of just state and federal agencies. This is a hopeful book. I am a hopeful and optimistic person, and that's probably how I've survived. Q: Do you mind if I ask why you decided against writing directly about your non-binary identity, and instead wrote about your past as you lived it, including using your former name, Ana? A: I had to be honest about my experiences during that time, and I didn't have words then for being non-binary. I didn't identify in that way. What's interesting is that in writing about my experience, the book is a book about being non-binary. It is a book about experiencing the world as somebody who doesn't quite feel right in the gender identity that's been handed to them. It's also about being queer. And about being a survivor of trauma. By not addressing these outright, I wanted to make sure other people would be able to say, This is my experience too.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Family of flood victim sues RV park over alleged negligence
AUSTIN (KMID/KPEJ)- Loved ones of 22-year-old Jayda Floyd, an Odessa juvenile probation officer who lost her life last month in the devastating floods that swept through the Hill Country, have filed a lawsuit against the RV park, attorneys with Glasheen, Valles & Inderman announced Tuesday afternoon. Jayda was staying at the HTR TX Hill Country Resort, a luxury RV park and campground on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, over the Fourth of July weekend with her fiancé, Odessa Police officer, Bailey Martin, and his family, when floodwaters roared through the area overnight. Woken by the commotion, attorneys for the family said that Jayda helped Bailey's teenage siblings climb onto the RV before she was swept away. That last heroic act saved the teens, but tragically, Jayda, Bailey, and Bailey's father and step-mother, Bobby and Amanda Martin, were killed. A dedicated juvenile probation officer in Ector County, Jayda was pursuing her master's degree in psychology at the University of Texas Permian Basin. Her mission was to serve at-risk youth and change the course of young lives. 'She was someone who was going to make a difference in the lives of people, particularly kids,' said her father, David Floyd. Attorney Kevin Glasheen said, 'The family wants answers and accountability. They want to know why the resort had no effective system to monitor extreme weather and flooding, no adequate warning for guests like Jayda, and no timely evacuation procedures.' The lawsuit states that the defendants may have ignored the following warnings: ● 5:47 p.m. Wednesday, July 2: Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced the agency activated state emergency response resources in anticipation of flooding in West and Central Texas ● Morning of Thursday, July 3: National Water Center issues Flood Hazard Outlook, identifying flash flood potential for Kerrville and surrounding areas, according to the Department of Homeland Security ● Approximately 1:45 p.m., Thursday, July 3: A Flood Watch was issued for Kerr County ● 6:22 p.m. Thursday, July 3: National Water Center warns of considerable flooding risks north and west of San Antonio, including Kerrville, according to the Department of Homeland Security ● Approximately 8:12 p.m. Thursday, July 3: The Flood Watch was extended ● 1:14 a.m. Friday, July 4: Flash Flood Warning with 'Considerable' tag issued for Bandera and Kerr Counties, triggering Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) and NOAA Weather Radio notifications, according to the Department of Homeland Security ● Approximately 2:37 a.m. Friday, July 4: The Flash Flood Watch was extended ● 3:19 a.m. Friday, July 4: A River Flood Warning was issued for the Guadalupe River at Hunt ● Approximately 3:28 a.m. Friday, July 4: A Downstream River Flood Warning was issued for the Guadalupe River in Kerrville ● Approximately 3:36 a.m. Friday, July 4: A Flash Flood Warning was issued for south-central Kerr and northwest Bandera Counties ● Approximately 3:56 a.m. Friday, July 4: A new River Forecast Warning was issued for the Guadalupe River at Hunt ● Approximately 4:04 a.m. Friday, July 4: A Flash Flood Emergency was issued ● 4:23 a.m. Friday, July 4: NWS posted on X that 'a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION and a Flash Flood EMERGENCY is in effect' ● 5:34 a.m. Friday, July 4: A Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Hunt through Kerrville and down to Center Point was issued According to reports, police and fire officials observed RVs being swept away in the darkness at or near the campground around 5:00am. Surviving guests of the HTR TX Hill Country Resort campground report that it was someone honking a car horn that awoke them, and they were barely able to escape with their lives as the water rose from ankle deep to waist deep in minutes. Witnesses report watching in horror as the flood waters carried away entire cabins, ripped from their foundations, and RVs, while people trapped inside them screamed for help. 'Defendants were negligent and grossly negligent for the following reasons,' the lawsuit stated: a. Failing to establish proper storm and flood monitoring procedures; b. Failing to provide proper equipment and training for their employees and/or agents to monitor the potential for catastrophic flooding; c. Failing to establish proper emergency response procedures; d. Failing to establish proper evacuation procedures and processes; e. Failing to properly, safely, and timely evacuate the property; f. Failing to warn guests of the risk of flooding and/or of the actual flooding that occurred; g. Placing guests in a known floodplain with a history of dangerous flooding; h. Installing structures not designed to withstand flooding conditions; i. Failing to implement sufficient infrastructure improvements and maintenance to establish and maintain a safe means of egress from the property to safety in the event of a flood such as the one encountered; j. Any violations of applicable, local, state, and federal laws and/or regulations; k. Vicarious liability for the conduct of its agents and/or employees; and l. Other acts negligent acts or omissions identified throughout the course of the lawsuit. 'Businesses operating campgrounds along the river have known about its flooding history for decades,' said Jon Clark, attorney for the family. 'We will investigate what steps—if any—were taken to monitor conditions and warn guests of the danger they were in.' In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for HTR TX Hill Country said, 'Our hearts go out to Ms. Floyd's family, her fiancé, and other loved ones – and to all of those who were impacted by the flooding that devastated the Kerrville community. As has been widely acknowledged by state and local authorities, meteorologists, and other experts, no one could have anticipated the unprecedented severity and rapid onset of the flooding that occurred and that exposed serious failures in public warning systems and emergency response protocols. While we have not yet been served with this complaint, we have reviewed a copy. We reject its fundamental thrust and will be prepared to vigorously defend ourselves in court.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Federal agents will be out 24/7 on patrol in Washington, the White House says
WASHINGTON — As a wary Washington waited, the White House promised a ramp-up of National Guard troops and federal officers on the streets of the nation's capital around the clock starting Wednesday, days after President Trump's unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city's police department for at least a month. The city's Democratic mayor and police chief framed the influx as a plus for public safety, though they said there are few hard measures for what a successful end to the operation might look like. The Republican president has said crime in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention could fix even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago. For two days, small groups of federal officers have been visible in scattered areas of the city. That is about to change, the administration says. A 'significantly higher' presence of guard members was expected Wednesday night, and federal agents will be out 24/7 rather than largely at night, according to the White House. Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before. In one neighborhood, officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI could be seen along with the U.S. Park Police searching the car of a motorist parked just outside a legal parking area to eat takeout and drop off a friend. Two blocks away, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers gathered in a parking lot before driving off on patrol. In other parts of the city, including those with popular nightlife hot spots, federal patrols were harder to find. At the National Mall, there was little law enforcement activity aside from Park Police cruisers pulling over a taxi driver near the Washington Monument. The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city included those for suspicion of driving under the influence, unlawful entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the White House. Seven illegal firearms were seized. Unlike in other U.S. states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington's police for up to a month. Extending Trump's power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance. The president has full command of the National Guard, but as of Tuesday evening, guard members had yet to be assigned a specific mission, according to an official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. As many as 800 troops were expected to be mobilized in a support role to law enforcement, though exactly what form remains to be determined. The push also includes clearing out encampments for people who are homeless, Trump has said. U.S. Park Police have removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed, she said. City officials said they are making more shelter space available and increasing their outreach. The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the nation's capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across the U.S. since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic. On average, the level of violence in Washington remains mostly higher than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice, said the group's president and CEO, Adam Gelb. Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local Fox affiliate that the city's Metro Police Department has been down nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now. Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday. But, she said, 'I think they regard it as a success to have more presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.' She had previously called Trump's moves 'unsettling and unprecedented' while pointing out he was within a president's legal rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American government but is not a state. For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard troops is nerve-racking. 'I've seen them right here at the subway ... they had my street where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,' Washington native Sheina Taylor said. 'It's more fearful now because even though you're a law-abiding citizen, here in D.C., you don't know, especially because I'm African American.' Whitehurst and Khalil write for the Associated Press. AP writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert, photographer Jacquelyn Martin and video journalist River Zhang contributed to this report.
