Seven people remained unaccounted for a day after an explosion at a warehouse storing fireworks in Northern California, the authorities said on Wednesday.
A fire broke out in the warehouse just after 6 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency, said in a statement on Wednesday. The fire triggered an enormous pyrotechnics display along with flames and smoke in a largely rural area of Esparto, Calif., about 30 miles northwest of Sacramento, officials said.
Officials did not immediately give any information about injuries but said that multiple structures were on fire. A cause was still unknown on Wednesday.
Cal Fire said that while the fireworks warehouse was “owned by an active pyrotechnic license holder,” investigators would work to determine whether all of its operations were in line with license requirements.
“This type of incident is very rare,” Cal Fire said in its statement.
When firefighters arrived on Tuesday evening, they found “numerous explosions and numerous wildfires throughout the area,” Curtis Lawrence, the chief of the Esparto Fire Protection District, said at a news conference on Tuesday night. The fires covered about 80 acres, he said, adding that firefighters had those under control while crews battled the main blaze.
“The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area,” the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday night. The Sheriff’s Office urged people to avoid the area for at least several days.
The Sheriff’s Office announced a one-mile evacuation zone around the warehouse and urged people to avoid the area. The evacuation order remained in effect on Wednesday afternoon.
The Sheriff’s Office said that it was not “investigating anything criminal at this time,” and added that the Office of the State Fire Marshal’s arson and bomb unit was taking the lead in the investigation.
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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