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CBS News
23-07-2025
- CBS News
Farm sues over deadly Esparto fireworks explosion, claiming crop loss and negligence
The first civil lawsuit stemming from the deadly fireworks warehouse explosion in Esparto that shook the entire community three weeks ago has been filed in Yolo County Superior Court. It's not on behalf of the families of the seven workers killed in the blast, though lawsuits are expected to be filed in the near future, but rather from a nearby farm. Etta James Farming LLC, based out of Knights Landing, is suing for what attorneys claim to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to their crops and farming business when the July 1 explosion sparked the Oakdale Fire, which burned nearly 80 acres of nearby land. "This is not a major corporate farming operation. This is an area where most farms are owned by people who make their living by farming and if crops don't come through one year, that has a major impact on them and their families," said Christopher Rodriguez, attorney for Etta James Farming. The lawsuit alleges 24 acres of wheat and 50 acres of canario bean crops burned. "The damage was not only to the crops themselves, but also to the farming equipment being used to farm those crops," Rodriguez said. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the company Devastating Pyrotechnics and its CEO Kenneth Chee; Blackstar Fireworks and its owner Craig Cutright; Sam Machado and up to 200 unnamed "Does" that the suit alleges are not yet publicly known. The two companies have had their fireworks licenses suspended by the state. Cutright and Machado both have connections to local law enforcement agencies, as CBS Sacramento has reported. Machado is a Lieutenant with the Yolo County Sheriff's Office; he owned and lived on the property where the warehouse exploded, his home destroyed. Machado's wife, Tammy, was a non-sworn, administrative employee of the sheriff's office. Both are currently on leave pending the investigation. Cutright serves as an Esparto Volunteer Firefighter, also currently on leave, with business connections to both Blackstar Fireworks and Devastating Pyrotechnics. "The incident, which was preventable, should never have happened," Rodriguez said. The lawsuit alleges the defendants are responsible for causing the explosion and fire that followed and are negligent in not doing enough to prevent it. Among the long list of allegations in the lawsuit are that Devastating Pyrotechnics and its operators failed to follow safety protocols, that explosives were not properly stored or inspected, that they failed to properly train employees and that there was no notification of hazardous materials being stored. The lawsuit reads that the defendants were "...part of an unlawful and unpermitted commercial-grade fireworks operation that, upon information and belief, included the storage and sale of illegal fireworks to members of the public..." and goes on to allege that the defendants, "...failed to comply with basic safety standards, instead conducting operations at the Fireworks Facility in a reckless manner that they knew or should have known caused an unreasonable risk of catastrophic explosion and fire." Concerning Machado, the lawsuit alleges he had "actual knowledge" that the other defendants were conducting illegal and unpermitted business. The lawsuit further claims that Machado, in turn, "...realized substantial financial benefits." As CBS Sacramento has reported, the land was not permitted at the local level to store fireworks. It was zoned only for agricultural use. "There's a concept in the law called res ipsa loquitur, the incident speaks for itself. As I mentioned, you don't get a devastating explosion like this where there are appropriate procedures in place," Rodriguez said. California's state fire marshal, the lead in the investigation, told CBS Sacramento in recent interviews that fireworks explosions like this are rare because they do not happen when the state's stringent fireworks rules and regulations are followed. The investigation into the explosion's origin and any potential wrongdoing is ongoing and no one has been charged with a crime. Friday, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, alongside Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez and Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, asked the California Department of Justice to join Cal Fire in leading the investigation. Attorney General Rob Bonta has not yet responded to the county's request. As families of the victims told CBS Sacramento, they are also pushing for transparency and answers as to who is responsible for the deadly explosion. Lawsuits are expected to be filed on behalf of the victims individually in the near future. CBS Sacramento reached out to all of the parties named in this lawsuit before publishing this story. None provided a comment.
CBS News
19-07-2025
- CBS News
Yolo County supervisors request DOJ probe into deadly Esparto fireworks explosion
Citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors sent a letter Friday to the California Department of Justice, requesting it to assist the investigation into the deadly fireworks explosion that killed seven people in the Yolo County community of Esparto on July 1. The board wrote that while Cal Fire's Office of the State Fire Marshal has led the investigation, the involvement of two Yolo County Sheriff's Office employees who own the property where the explosion occurred has fueled public concern over the integrity of the process. Cal Fire has received assistance in the investigation from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) and local agencies like the Yolo County District Attorney's office and sheriff's office. "While we do not question the ability and integrity of the District Attorney to support the CAL FIRE and CAL OSHA investigations, ensuring the public's confidence in the investigation and outcomes is of critical importance to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and our community," the letter said. The Esparto property was owned by Sheriff's Lieutenant Sam Machado and his wife, who works in an administrative role in the sheriff's office. Both have since been placed on administrative leave. The site was also tied to two pyrotechnics companies, Blackstar Fireworks and Devastating Pyrotechnics, whose business licenses listed the same address where the incident occurred. The state fire marshal has since suspended the pyrotechnics licenses of Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, and Craig Cutright, owner of Blackstar Fireworks and a volunteer firefighter with the Esparto Fire Department. The letter states that Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez and District Attorney Jeff Reisig also support the request. The DOJ has not yet publicly responded.
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Deadly Yolo County explosion: Family of those killed search for answers as investigation continues
Yolo County officials on Monday said they were still working to identify the seven individuals whose remains were found at the site of a fireworks warehouse that exploded last week. Officials expected to have the victims' identities confirmed within the next 48 hours, Yolo County Undersheriff Matt Davis said Monday at a news conference. Authorities continued searching the facility Monday, although Davis said investigators don't believe there are more victims. 'We're going to make sure with every available resource that no stone is left unturned and there are no individuals still left on site,' Davis said. Several family members have identified their loved ones as among the missing, and other relatives have expressed frustration over the lack of official information from authorities. No further details about the ongoing investigation, which is being led by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, were released. Two companies at the property, Devastating Pyrotechnics and Blackstar Fireworks, had state fireworks licenses, according to a Cal Fire spokesperson. The state fire marshal 'will verify if the licensee was operating within the licensing requirements,' according to the spokesperson. But the head of Devastating Pyrotechnics, 48-year-old Kenneth Chee, was denied a federal license to acquire or possess fireworks for reasons that weren't immediately clear, according to interviews and a Chronicle review of public records. The explosion last Tuesday collapsed the fireworks warehouse in the rural community of Esparto, about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento. The blast also ignited a 78-acre fire, prompting evacuations. As they await official confirmation, people whose family members remain missing after the explosion created GoFundMe pages to help the surviving relatives with funeral costs as well as transportation, child care and other needs in the wake of lost income. One verified fundraising page identified Jhony and Jesus Ramos as two brothers who disappeared after the explosion. Jesus Ramos, an 18-year-old expecting father, was working his first day on the job when the explosion happened, according to the fundraiser. Other verified GoFundMe pages identified Carlos Rodriguez and Joel 'Jr.' Melendez among the missing. According to the fundraisers, Rodriguez was a husband and father; Melendez was the main provider for his pregnant wife and their 11-month-old son. A Facebook post by CWC Life, a Christian church in Manteca (San Joaquin County), identified Angel Voller as one of the victims 'who tragically passed away in the Yolo County fire and explosion.' An Instagram post by Venture Academy Family of Schools in Stockton identified Voller as a former star baseball player, who had been named Pitcher of the Year by the California Collegiate Athletic Association. 'Angel was a fierce competitor and the most loyal friend and teammate you could ever ask for,' the school wrote in a post. 'Angel's impact on our program, his presence and his infectious smile will never be forgotten.'
