A composite image of drone photographs taken on Sept. 11, 2025, shows the remains of the Esparto fireworks explosion site a few months after the blast killed seven workers at the facility.
HECTOR AMEZCUA
hamezcua@sacbee.com
A fireworks safety watchdog in California said that the continuing revelations about the Esparto fireworks explosion has convinced her that an independent probe needs to look at the State Fire Marshal’s actions leading up to the fatal blast and its overall role in regulating fireworks.
“The lack of follow-up is disturbing and makes it even clearer we need an independent inquiry,” said Lee Miller, the founder of Residents Against Illegal Fireworks. “When people die, the public deserves a thorough, independent evaluation of what’s going on so this doesn’t happen again.”
The warehouse storing fireworks about 40 miles outside of Sacramento blew up on July 1 last year, killing seven people.
The Sacramento Bee has reported over the past eight months that:
Public records show the company did not have the proper licenses and lacked the proper zoning permits for fireworks storage. The company also had no license or permit to manufacture fireworks, though publicly available import records show they procured tons of toxic and explosive chemicals involved in the manufacture of fireworksA Southern California raid months before the Esparto blast revealed that the illegal fireworks belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics, but Cal Fire did not follow that link to Esparto, where the company was headquartered.A fireworks-fueled fire at a San Jose storage facility also connect illegal fireworks to the company, and emails show Cal Fire officials communicated it should look into it.Despite those warning signs, Cal Fire failed to alert local authorities in Yolo County, or to uncover glaring conflicts of interest in the county — among them, that the fireworks company operated out of the home of a Yolo deputy sheriff and had supplied fireworks to the Esparto fire chief.Concern about illegal fireworks
Miller, who lives in Sacramento, said she founded the group, which she said has grown to 1,100 members, seven years ago because she was concerned about increasing incidents of fires and injuries related to illegal fireworks in Sacramento and across the state.
A Cal Fire-led task force convened in August after the Esparto tragedy, is finalizing its report. A draft version is largely devoid of criticism of Cal Fire.
The draft, reviewed by The Bee, as well as legislation proposed by state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-West Sacramento, calls for closing licensing gaps exposed by the Esparto explosion.
Among them was a proposal to bar people with certain criminal convictions from obtaining fireworks licenses.
Messaged the governor
On Feb. 6, Miller wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom, making the case for an independent investigation that would include examining Cal Fire’s oversight.
“California has already seen how public trust erodes when after-action reporting is perceived as internally managed or sanitized,” she wrote, adding, “By contrast, Los Angeles County commissioned the McChrystal Group to conduct an independent After-Action Review following the Eaton and Palisades fires.”
That review, Miller said, “produced actionable recommendations to strengthen emergency response systems.”
Miller said that she has not yet received a response from the governor.
A spokesperson for Newsom did not comment on Miller’s letter and referred questions about Esparto to Cal Fire.
The Sacramento Bee
Joe Rubin, an Emmy award-winning investigative reporter for The Sacramento Bee, unpacks complex systems with an eye toward holding power to account. Rubin’s reporting for the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR and Capital & Main has led to state laws protecting workers from lead poisoning and has exposed wasteful spending.