Days before the Fourth of July, an explosion at a warehouse storing fireworks in Northern California set off a dramatic pyrotechnics display along with flames and smoke, officials said.
The fire, in a largely rural area in Esparto, Calif., broke out around 5:50 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, Curtis Lawrence, the chief of the Esparto Fire Protection District, said during a news briefing.
Officials did not give any information about injuries but said that multiple structures were on fire. As of Wednesday morning, the cause of the fire was unknown.
When firefighting crews arrived on Tuesday evening, firefighters found “numerous explosions and numerous wildfires throughout the area,” Mr. Lawrence said. The fires covered about 80 acres, he said, but added 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 facility and urged people to avoid the area.
The sheriff’s office said that it was not “investigating anything criminal at this time,” but that California’s State Fire Marshal Arson and Bomb Unit was taking the lead in investigating the episode.
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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