Yolo County supervisors say staff were aware of Esparto fireworks storage years before deadly explosion

Years before a deadly explosion at a fireworks storage facility rocked the town of Esparto, some Yolo County employees knew fireworks were being stored on site.

The information was disclosed by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors in a release yesterday, with the board saying it “is committed to ensuring public safety and maintaining full transparency as we share information regarding the recent Oakdale Fire incident.”

The board said the information is contained in county building permit files and related records, which were released in coordination with the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to avoid interfering with an ongoing criminal investigation.

The incident is being investigated by Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal. Seven workers were killed instantly in the blast, according to the Yolo County Coroner’s Office. Two others were injured, and the explosion also started the 78-acre Oakdale Fire.

The 2022 staff review

According to the board’s statement, County Building Division staff were informed in mid-2022 of “possible fireworks storage” at the property located along County Roads 86 and 23.

“At that time, the Building Division was processing a permit application for a new agricultural equipment storage building on the property,” the county statement reads. According to the county records, staff also consulted with the Esparto Fire Protection District, visited the site and met with a representative of the property owner.

A 2022 site plan document showing where the new agricultural storage building would be built on the Esparto property.Courtesy of Yolo County

According to the county, the mid-2022 Building Division staff review included the following:

Display-grade fireworks were reportedly stored in shipping containers licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Officials say available records do not identify where these shipping containers were located at the time, but note that “they may have been the containers located on the west side of the property at the time of the incident.” Officials say the containers in question were not involved in the explosion, and were seized by Cal Fire following the incident.
The property owner representative told county staff “safe and sane” fireworks were stored on the property “from time-to-time” in approximately 25 shipping containers. They also said the fireworks saw “occasional processing and repackaging in accordance with ATF regulations.”
The visiting county staff did not observe any fireworks or other hazardous materials. The county’s release says the “property owner and building contractor consistently represented that the new building under construction would be used only for agricultural purposes.”

The county’s statement adds that the Building Division “promptly reported these findings to departmental leadership and County Code Enforcement,” but said no further enforcement action was taken.

Building Division staff did not return to the Esparto site or take other fireworks-related actions at the property after 2022. The supervisors also say the Building Division and Code Enforcement did not receive reports about the storage or handling of display-grade fireworks at the facility. The release did point to Google Earth images and media reports which suggested “display-grade fireworks storage and handling increased greatly after mid-2022.”

Aerial photographs taken February 2022, November 2023 and June 2024 of the Esparto property where the fireworks facility was located. The construction of the new building is seen in the lower right of each image, along with added storage containers.Google Earth

The county says it has launched an internal review of its code enforcement processes, procedures, and staffing.

Officials previously said the property is zoned for agriculture, which prohibits the storage or handling of fireworks or explosives. Officials say no permits, licenses or approvals were ever issued for the fireworks facility, and that “no zoning amendment or land use application was ever submitted or approved by the County to consider such uses.“

Conflicts of interest

The news comes as questions remain around the circumstances surrounding the July 1 explosion including potential conflicts of interest with local agencies.

The property where the facility was located is owned by Sam Machado, a lieutenant in the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and his wife Tammy, who also works for the department. One of the fireworks companies that operated out of the Esparto facility, Blackstar Fireworks, is owned by Craig Cutright, a volunteer firefighter with the Esparto Fire Protection District.

Both agencies have recused themselves from the investigation into the incident, and Cutright and the Machados were placed on leave following the explosion.

A June 2, 2022, county email from Chief Building Official Scott Doolittle noted the connection between law enforcement, the property and fireworks. “I received a tip that the site is being used to run a pyrotechnics business. Sheriff deputies, potentially including deputies we work with, are reported to be involved in the business,” he wrote to another employee.

“They are using an ag exempt building plus 25 Conex boxes for the operation.”

The next day, Doolittle wrote that he spoke with Esparto Fire Protection District Chief Curtis Lawrence, who “confirmed that the pyrotechnic business is licensed through the federal ATF.”

According to Doolittle’s email Lawrence said the 25 containers for the “safe and sane” fireworks “act as a distribution center, whereas the other smaller groups of containers are the ones that contain the more dangerous materials and they appear to meet fire separation requirements, but I need to verify.”

The Sacramento Bee reports the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office served a warrant to search Lawrence’s home, office and vehicles weeks after the explosion as part of a criminal investigation.

On July 18 the Yolo County Board of Supervisors asked for the California Department of Justice to join Cal Fire and Cal OSHA in leading the investigation, noting a “strong public perception of conflicts within the [Yolo County Sheriff’s Office] that could undermine the integrity of the on-going investigations and any subsequent prosecution of responsible parties.”

The DOJ declined to intervene on Aug. 8, saying the Department is confident in Cal Fire’s ability to conduct an unbiased investigation. Special Assistant Attorney General Jamal Anderson also wrote the DOJ did not find any “office-wide disabling conflict” within the DA’s office that would require a recusal from prosecuting any potential offenses.

Enduring questions about the fireworks

Questions remain about the fireworks storage itself, as well as the pyrotechnic companies connected to the incident.

On July 15, Cal Fire suspended the pyrotechnic licenses of Cutright and Kenneth Chee, the CEO and owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics which also operated out of the Esparto facility. The licenses were officially revoked on Aug. 22 after the Office of the State Fire Marshal determined both men “had violated California’s fireworks laws and regulations.”

These violations include not filing proper importation documents with state officials, not reporting lost fireworks, and possessing fireworks without a local fire permit, as well as “numerous additional allegations that remain part of the criminal investigation still underway."

Despite Yolo County records noting that display-grade fireworks were stored in shipping containers licensed by ATF at the Esparto facility, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Chee had been denied a license from the federal agency after a criminal conviction in the 1990s. The county’s release did not specify which company’s fireworks were reportedly stored in the containers.

ATF regulations prohibit people convicted of a crime punishable by a year or more in prison from receiving or possessing explosive materials, or being issued a federal explosives license or permit.

Even the layout of the Esparto storage facility has raised questions among some experts. Julie Heckman, Executive Director of the American Pyrotechnics Association and a member of Cal Fire’s General Fireworks Advisory Committee, told Insight host Vicki Gonzalez in July that the sight of the Esparto explosion raised multiple concerns.

Heckman said the structure of the facility was a “very uncommon setup for professional display fireworks,” which have to align with ATF regulations. She said the safe storage and separation of fireworks, pyrotechnic devices and explosive compounds is critical to preventing a major accident.

She also said Devastating Pyrotechnics operating despite Chee’s lack of a federal permit was a “huge red flag.”

“I don't know how you could have a state license for professional display fireworks and not have a valid ATF license,” Heckman said. “States are allowed to be more restrictive than the federal regulations, but they are never supposed to be less.”

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