Rescue crews on Thursday began searching for seven people who were still missing two days after a fireworks warehouse in Northern California was decimated in a fire that turned into an explosion.
Families of the missing have been on edge ever since the warehouse combusted on Tuesday evening in a largely rural area about 30 miles northwest of Sacramento. The fireworks company, Devastating Pyrotechnics, indicated in a statement that multiple people had died, but local officials have not issued a determination.
Search crews, including a team with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have only just begun to enter the site in Esparto, Calif., because it was deemed hazardous through Wednesday night, with fires burning and explosions still occurring, officials said. The cause is still under investigation.
The warehouse contained large pyrotechnics used in aerial displays in Northern California, including for shows that were scheduled for the Fourth of July on Friday. Several cities canceled their fireworks displays after the incident.
As of Thursday afternoon, some spot fires had been extinguished and the scene had “become a little bit safer” for crews to start conducting their work, said Chief Curtis Lawrence of the Esparto Fire Protection District. But officials said it was still too soon to determine what happened to the seven missing people. Officials have not specified whether all seven worked at the facility.
Officials “are doing everything they can to bring you the answers and the closure that you’re looking for,” Matthew Davis, the undersheriff of Yolo County, said as he directed his remarks to the loved ones of the victims at a news conference on Thursday. “We understand this is an incredibly difficult time.”
But, Mr. Davis said, crews had to move carefully to prevent more people from being injured. “I must ask and beg for your patience as we work through the scene,” he said.
Three of the seven people missing are brothers who worked at the warehouse, said Angel Barajas, a Yolo County supervisor who represents the district where the incident occurred. County officials have been communicating with the families of the victims and is providing vouchers for hotels, food and mental health counseling, he said.
“The community is bummed out and really saddened by the whole situation,” Mr. Barajas said in an interview. “It’s just really terrible.”
Three brothers — ages 18, 23 and 28 — were employees at the warehouse and were among those missing, according to a woman who said she was the girlfriend of the youngest brother and confronted officials at a news conference on Wednesday. The woman was identified by CBS News Sacramento as Syanna Ruiz.
She told officials that she was angry that families hadn’t yet received more information.
“You guys aren’t focusing on people that are stuck in the warehouse, possibly dead, as well as us family members who are worried sick, and you guys are yet to give us any information,” said Ms. Ruiz, who said she was pregnant.
Besides the seven people who were missing, two were injured in the fire, Chief Lawrence said. The two were treated and “are OK now,” he said.
The warehouse was operated by Devastating Pyrotechnics, which has described itself as a company that “has produced displays in the San Francisco Bay Area and other California venues for over 30 years,” according to an archived version of its website.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said that while the fireworks warehouse was “owned by an active pyrotechnic license holder,” investigators were working to determine whether all of its operations adhered to license requirements.
“This type of incident is very rare,” Cal Fire said in its statement.
The website of Devastating Pyrotechnics has been updated since the explosion with a statement that confirmed at least some deaths. “Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community. Our focus will remain on those directly impacted by this tragedy, and we will cooperate fully with the proper authorities in their investigation.”
Douglas Horngrad, a lawyer representing Devastating Pyrotechnics, declined to comment further about the company’s operations or the explosion.
State Senator Christopher Cabaldon, who represents the area, said that he had questions about how such a tragedy could have occurred.
“We want to know what caused this facility, run by a licensed operator, to explode?” he said in a statement. “Was it a violation of our state fireworks safety regulations, or do those regulations need strengthening?”
The fire forced several Northern California cities, including Chico, Cloverdale and Marysville, to cancel their July 4 displays because they relied on Devastating Pyrotechnics for their fireworks.
San Jose, Northern California’s most populous city, announced Thursday that it had replaced its scheduled fireworks show with what would be the city’s first-ever drone show. “The fireworks for the show that we were going to have here were in fact at that location,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Soumya Karlamangla is a Times reporter who covers California. She is based in the Bay Area.
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