Latest news with #Esparto

RNZ News
4 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Seven people missing from massive explosion at California fireworks facility
By Steve Gorman , Reuters Seven people were missing after a fire and powerful explosion levelled a commercial fireworks facility in rural northern California, authorities said. Aerial footage from local news media showed the large warehouse-like building blown to pieces Tuesday evening in an enormous, thundering fireball that rocked a wide area around the Yolo County community of Esparto, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Sacramento, the state capital. The blast, belching out a pall of thick black smoke, was followed by a flurry of dozens of smaller explosions flashing in the sky over the site, apparently ignited by the inventory of pyrotechnics stored at the location. Flames spread from the explosion charred about 78 acres (32 hectares) of surrounding vegetation, according to Jason Clay, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Two people injured in the "initial event" received medical treatment, and seven other individuals were missing, Curtis Lawrence, fire chief for the Esparto Fire Protection District, told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday, about 24 hours later. The cause of the incident, which occurred three days before the July Fourth US. Independence Day celebrations that typically involve fireworks displays, was under investigation by the state fire marshal's office, Lawrence said. Authorities said firefighters and other emergency response personnel were keeping a safe distance from the site as teams continued to make assessments of ongoing risks posed by live fireworks, which continued to go off at random through Wednesday evening. Teams were flying drones and aircraft over the area seeking to determine the fate of the missing and to monitor lingering hazards, Lawrence said. Authorities declined to say whether the missing were workers from the facility or bystanders, but he said there were no casualties among firefighters or other emergency personnel. "I can say I have not seen anything like this," Lawrence said. Asked how authorities would know when it was safe enough to venture further into the site, he said, "It's tough to get a definitive answer of when that's going to be and what that actually looks like." An evacuation zone was established around the site, and about 150 homes and farms were without power as a result of the incident, Lawrence said. He described the demolished facility as a licensed pyrotechnics business involving commercial fireworks sold for public display. But it was unclear whether fireworks were merely stored there or also produced on site. - Reuters


Sky News
6 hours ago
- Sky News
California: Seven missing after explosion at fireworks warehouse in California
Seven people are missing after an explosion at a fireworks warehouse. People were urged to avoid an area in rural Northern California on Tuesday night, after an explosion at a building near Esparto, a community of around 3,000 people, 40 miles (65km) from Sacramento. The blast set off a barrage of fireworks and sent a fireball into the air, launching debris and causing a huge blaze that led to other spot fires. After scorching agricultural fields, the fire caused by the explosion was under control at nearly 80 acres on Wednesday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Emergency crews and investigators are working with the property's owner and monitoring the area using drones to find the missing people, it added. It is unclear if those unaccounted for worked at the warehouse or lived nearby. The Yolo County Sheriff's Office said in a news release: "The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area." Evacuation orders are still in place, authorities said. Deputy state fire marshal Kara Garrett told local media: "This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements." Two nearby counties have said they are seeking alternatives for Fourth of July celebrations, as their fireworks were destroyed in the blast.


CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
Esparto residents describe fireworks explosions, saying "it felt like a bomb went off"
Some residents from the small Yolo County community of Esparto recounted what they witnessed during a fireworks explosion that has left seven unaccounted for. A property owner who lives less than half a mile away from where the explosions happened had his front windows blown out, saying it sent all his animals and workers on the property into a panic. The big boom was followed by dark clouds of smoke, fire and debris flying. The blasts sparked fires on the ground, engulfing nearby houses. "The shockwave was really alarming and damn near almost knocked the wind out of me and pushed me to the ground almost. It was really overwhelming," said Stephen Gordon, who works and live at Cadena Farm. Gordon was working in his garden at Cadena Farm, less than half a mile away from where the blasts were popping off, blowing out his front window and shutting off his water and power. "Once you saw the plume and kind of chaos afterwards, that's what it's been since then," Gordon said. "My husband works graveyards, so he was asleep and I was in the kitchen and it felt like a bomb went off," said Liz Steiner, who lives nearby. "It felt like something crashed into the house or something blew up. Well, something did blow up, we didn't know what it was." Steiner and her husband live about three miles away from the facility, and say the explosions damaged some of the stucco on their walls. "It was terrifying and then the explosions continued," Steiner said. "They kept going off, the big ones and small ones, and we could see the fireworks exploding from our house." "People out here definitely come together when they need to," Gordon said. "This was no different for sure." Devastating Pyrotechnics, the warehouse that caught fire, said that it will cooperate with the investigation in a statement posted to its website.


CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Seven people missing after fireworks warehouse explosion in California
LOS ANGELES: Seven people remained missing on Wednesday (Jul 2) in California, a day after a fireworks warehouse explosion injured two victims and sparked a giant fire, authorities said. The explosion occurred on Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in a warehouse located in the town of Esparto, in the northern part of the state. "Seven individuals remain unaccounted for," California's state firefighting agency said in a statement. "First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals." The two injured people have been located and are now out of danger, according to authorities. However, firefighters have still not been able to access the warehouse because the fireworks held inside can still explode. Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence called the situation "very complex and risky". "There were, you know, reports of a large debris field of large pieces of shrapnel spread out across a large area," he told a press conference. "So we maintained a wide perimeter of a wide berth around this area today into the day, and we kept our responders in a safe location." The authorities' cautious response angered some relatives of the victims. A woman interrupted the press conference and complained she had no information about her boyfriend and two brothers-in-law who were among the missing. She accused the firefighters of not "focusing on the people who are stuck in the warehouse, possibly dead". "People have possibly lost their lives because of you guys not doing your job well enough," the woman, who did not identify herself, said. Following the accident, several nearby towns announced they would have to cancel their fireworks displays scheduled for Friday, Jul 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day.

Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Seven people missing after fireworks warehouse explosion in California
Seven people remained missing Wednesday in California, a day after a fireworks warehouse explosion injured two victims and sparked a massive fire, authorities said. The explosion occurred Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in a warehouse located in the town of Esparto, in the northern part of the state. 'Seven individuals remain unaccounted for,' California's state firefighting agency said in a statement. 'First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals.' The two injured people have been located and are now out of danger, according to authorities. However, firefighters have still not been able to access the warehouse because the fireworks held inside could still explode. Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence called the situation 'very complex and risky.' 'There were, you know, reports of a large debris field of large pieces of shrapnel spread out across a large area,' he told a press conference. 'So we maintained a wide perimeter of a wide berth around this area today into the day, and we kept our responders in a safe location.' The authorities' cautious response angered some relatives of the victims. A woman interrupted the press conference and complained she had no information about her boyfriend and two brothers-in-law, who were among the missing. She accused the firefighters of not 'focusing on the people who are stuck in the warehouse, possibly dead.' 'People have possibly lost their lives because of you guys not doing your job well enough,' the woman, who did not identify herself, said. Following the accident, several nearby towns announced they would have to cancel their fireworks displays scheduled for Friday, July 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day. 'This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements,' Cal Fire said in its statement.