ESPARTO, California (KCRA) — Multiple explosions obliterated a fireworks facility Tuesday in the Esparto area of Yolo County, causing nearby evacuations and power outages.
It began with a call of a structure fire at 5:49 p.m. along County Road 23 and County Road 86A. As LiveCopter 3 was heading to the area, it could already see a massive plume of black smoke from miles away.
Flames forced the fireworks to ignite, leading to several explosions engulfing at least two homes and several vehicles on the property, also leading to nearby spot vegetation fires.
Cal Fire named one of the fires the Oakdale Fire, which started at 6:02 p.m. As of 6:45 a.m., it has burned at least 78.3 acres. Reporter Mike TeSelle is back at the scene Wednesday morning and did not see large active flames, only lingering smoke. If the acreage does change for the Oakdale Fire, it is unlikely to be a significant change.
The explosions posed a danger to firefighters who responded to the area, and crews had to push back and let the fire burn as explosions ravaged the facility for hours.
In a press briefing just after 9 p.m., Esparto Fire Protection District Chief Curtis Lawrence said that crews would maintain a safe perimeter around the main fire throughout the night, while putting out spot fires around the area.
Cal Fire crews who were responding to a fire in Vacaville, around 25 miles away, told KCRA 3 that they saw the smoke plume and began directing personnel that way.
The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the building that exploded was a warehouse storing fireworks.
Reporter Andres Valle was at the scene of the fire. He was live on air when a large explosion occurred. Crews repeatedly pushed media back when the situation worsened.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office said it was monitoring the fire and explosion and the State Fire Marshal sent an arson and bomb investigation team to the site.
The sheriff’s office said a one-mile evacuation order was put in place around the area where the fire was burning.
By 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, residents were able to return to the town of Madison, Yolo County officials said.
A number of households are also without power. According to Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s outage map, the outage was reported around 5:49 p.m., affecting more than 2,000 customers. An estimated restoration time was listed as 1:15 a.m. Wednesday but roughly 140 customers in Yolo County remain without power.
When asked multiple times about injuries, the Esparto fire chief said, “We’re not going to answer detailed questions.” It is also unclear if there is still a risk to the public.
While the cause of the fire remains unknown, the Federal Aviation Administration is dispelling any rumors that a plane crash caused the fire. It said it does not have any reports of downed aircraft in the area.
We are also working to confirm if any fireworks shows will be impacted by the number of destroyed fireworks.
Records show a company called “Devastating Pyrotechnics” has been linked to the address where the explosions happened, but it is unknown how the company is connected to the facility. KCRA 3 has reached out to the company but we have not heard back yet.
Despite all of the smoke that billowed into the sky, the air quality remains in the healthy range, according to PurpleAir.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox Email address Submit
