The investigation into the deadly explosion at a fireworks storage facility in Esparto has entered its third week and several questions remain about the companies and individuals connected to the site.
The July 1 incident killed seven people, who were officially identified by the Yolo County Coroner’s Office last week. Two other people were injured, and the explosion started the nearly 80-acre Oakdale Fire.
Concerns have emerged about potential conflicts of interest between local agencies and the Esparto site, including members of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and the Esparto Fire Protection District.
The investigation is being led by Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal. The agency announced Wednesday it had suspended the pyrotechnic licenses of two individuals connected to the incident, Kenneth Chee of Devastating Pyrotechnics and Craig Cutright of Blackstar Fireworks. Cutright is a volunteer member of the Esparto Fire Protection District.
State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant joined Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez to provide an update on the ongoing investigation.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
What is the latest you can share with us about this deadly explosion?
For over two weeks now our investigators have been dedicated, actively investigating this incident. From day one, after the explosions were mitigated, we began collecting a significant amount of evidence from the scene. That site evidence collection has concluded, but we are continuing to analyze the evidence that we collected, beginning witness interviews and really trying to piece back together exactly what happened.
Does Cal Fire and your office, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, usually lead investigations like this?
This is a local incident in [a] local jurisdiction but our arson and bomb investigations unit is available, especially for more rural, smaller fire departments, to assist in the origin and cause investigation of fires that are known to be arson, or explosions. This is what we do every single day.
This is an extremely rare type of incident, this magnitude of an explosion. But, it is common for us to assist a local fire district in determining how a fire or explosion occurred.
Has any part of this evolved into a criminal investigation?
It's too early for us to really speculate… was there a crime, or even a violation of regulation occurring? There are a lot of red flags that are in place. It's very likely, as we're hearing, that there was not a local permit to store fireworks of any magnitude, legal or for any other reason. That just adds to the complexity of this case, but it’s one of the reasons why we’ve been dedicating so many resources to really help pull things together, to try to get answers… because we know the family deserves to know what happened. The community deserves answers.
But to get the answers, and to make sure that they're accurate, and to make sure if a crime was committed… that we can bring that forward to a trial, we've got to make sure that we maintain the integrity of this case.
Candles, flowers and signs demanding answers from local officials Monday, July 7, 2025, in Esparto near the site of the fireworks warehouse explosion that killed seven.Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio
What red flags stand out to you?
There are a number of complexities in this investigation. Local connections, potential conflicts that have all been reported in the media. These are things that we're trying to work through. We have some very stringent fireworks laws here in California. There are very stringent federal requirements. That’s what prevents tragedies like this from happening in the first place… that’s what ensures that an inherently dangerous item like a firework can be handled and manufactured safely. So, something went wrong to have this large of an explosion.
Cal Fire has confirmed to us that multiple search warrants have been served as part of this investigation. Last week it was reported that there was a search conducted at a property in San Francisco connected to the company Devastating Pyrotechnics. What can you tell us about the companies that are connected to this fireworks facility in Esparto?
We are actively tracking down leads. Like you said we have already issued search warrants, collected administrative records and other items out of the search in San Francisco… we may do more. Again, it's our responsibility not only to collect the evidence at the site, but to follow up on leads.
It's too early for us to really speculate what those connections are, and really to talk about what we found because at the end of the day, the integrity of the investigation is paramount. Making sure that we can pull together a case… not just to get the answers, but it’s our responsibility — if a law was broken — to be able to bring, without a reasonable doubt, our findings to the judicial system.
There are concerns about how some local agencies are connected to the incident which have been widely reported. Two employees of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office lived at the site of the explosion. A volunteer member of the Esparto Fire Protection District is also connected to the facility. All of them have been put on leave. From your experience, what stands out to you about these connections?
Let's start with the reminder that you’re innocent until proven guilty. So, it's important for us to understand the conflicts. It's been important for us to take steps to maintain the integrity of the site to prevent any perceived or actual conflicts. But this is a case that's incredibly unusual. An explosion of this magnitude, the impact, the result of seven fatalities makes this incredibly unusual. But the potential conflicts, those are all going to be pieces that we're going to continue to follow… did it play a role?
It's our responsibility as investigators, independent from any of the local ties [or] any local connections, to try to determine how this explosion occurred, and then hold those individuals accountable. Whether they had a conflict or not, whether they were in public safety or not, that really is not as important to us as it is to make sure that we again have a thorough investigation.
Last week we spoke with Julie Heckman, a member of Cal Fire's General Fireworks Advisory Council and a member of the American Pyrotechnics Association. She raised concerns about how this company was allowed to store fireworks after its owner and CEO was denied a federal license by the ATF due to a prior felony conviction, and also missing local permits. What would you like people to better understand about licensing?
Let’s start with, how can you get a license? The law in California is very clear that my office can only deny a license if an individual has a felony in relation to explosions, or arson and other fire-related crimes. So this discussion that the individual may or may not have been able to get federal licenses because of their criminal record, versus the state… It's our responsibility to enforce the state’s laws.
Lots of conversations [are] already beginning with the legislature, they at the end of the day will set the policy direction for us. But there are other pieces that we want to look at to make sure that within our regulatory framework, are there things that we — with the advice of our advisory committee, from industry, from the fire service — can continue to add to help make sure that this type of incident never occurs. We're going to absolutely maintain that focus of updating those regulations.
We have an advisory group that's been working on trying to update very old regulations, but that's not going to change who can access a license. But the complexities about needing a state license and a local permit and a federal permit; while we do a significant amount of coordination…we're going to continue to dive in further about the checks and balances that have to be in place between our local permits that are required under the fire code, and the state licenses.
Right now, a local must make sure that there's a state license, but we need to make sure that if you're going to operate any type of business related to pyrotechnics, that there's the requirements and the checks and balances for licenses and permits.
How are inspections or check-ins conducted for a pyrotechnics business like this? Does that start at the local level, or do state and federal officials also do inspections as well?
When it relates to storage, that is not regulated by the state. The fire code specifically provides the local fire or building department with the responsibility to make the decision of permitting locations to store these types of materials. No different than storing hazardous waste or other types of hazardous materials.
A June 6, 2024 aerial image of the Esparto fireworks storage facility that exploded July 1.Google EarthThe fire code then also provides direction on inspections, again it is a local permit and a local inspection. There's not a mandated inspection requirement in the fire code for hazardous materials [or] explosive materials. It really defers to the local jurisdiction to determine the frequency of inspections. Those are going to be obviously important pieces for us… to understand from Yolo [County] and Esparto what was known, what was permitted, what was inspected. The findings of this investigation may be much larger than Yolo County to help us understand… are we here in California ensuring that the usage, the manufacturing, the transportation of pyrotechnics are being held to the highest standard? We have more rules on fireworks than federally, but are there things that we can continue to do more as a result? That will help us determine what changes might need to occur.
Cal Fire announced that it suspended the pyrotechnic licenses of two people connected to this explosion, Kenneth Chee of Devastating Pyrotechnics and Craig Cutright of Blackstar Fireworks. Is this standard procedure in an ongoing investigation?
Whenever we have a large investigation… When we find that there are “red flags,” it is standard procedure for us to immediately work to suspend a license. We then have 30 days [by law] to pull together enough evidence, and to begin the administrative process to potentially revoke a license. While we've collected evidence, while there's a lot of information that's been reported that really points in a direction that things were not happening the way they should, those are things we’ve got to be able to back up through evidence.
If license holders are putting individuals at risk, it's our responsibility to pull their license. But I also want to stress that the fireworks industry as a whole works very hard and very closely with us to make sure that they are doing their part to maintain safety. But if bad actors are not following those rules, those then have impacts with everybody.
Julie Heckman also talked about watching the initial videos of the incident. When you look at those images, what stood out to you about the nature of the explosion, whether the facility was up to standards, or if there were other combustibles inside?
These are all elements that we are investigating and incorporating. ATF has very stringent requirements related to storage. The spacing of materials, the amount of material you have in one place. Those rules are stringent to prevent explosions from occurring… or to lessen the impact.
The incident occurred, and so trying to understand [whether] the right materials, the allowable materials and the right spacing [were] all being followed at the time of the explosion are going to be questions we’re working to answer.
Finally, do you have a timeline or an idea of how long this investigation could take?
The family deserves answers. We are working around the clock to work on a determination, but just like any other fire that we investigate, every incident is different. Investigations can take days, weeks, sometimes years. Again the reality of a situation like this… we may never know exactly what sparked the explosion originally.
While we again have completed collecting all the evidence at the site, our work to interview witnesses, to talk to the family, to collect cell phone images, to continue to pull public records from different government entities, potentially do search warrants… Those are all going to be part of the next steps.
It's our responsibility, while we want to quickly give answers, we've got to make sure that we take this step-by-step so that we can not only accurately provide the right answer, but make sure that it's defendable if this is a case that, likely, will have to go to court.
