Licenses Suspended After Deadly Blast at Fireworks Plant in Esparto, CA
The Sacramento Bee
(TNS)
The California Office of the State Fire Marshal has suspended the pyrotechnic licenses linked to a facility in Esparto where a series of explosions killed seven people two weeks ago.
Cal Fire announced the suspension in a news release Tuesday afternoon. The Office of the State Fire Marshal suspended the pyrotechnic licenses of Kenneth Chee of Devastating Pyrotechnics and Craig Cutright of BlackStar Fireworks, who were identified in conjunction with the facility.
Cutright, a volunteer firefighter with the Esparto Fire Protection District who is on leave, was also connected to the Esparto facility and held a state public display license.
Cal Fire officials said the license suspensions were part of the ongoing investigation into the origin and cause of the July 1 pyrotechnics explosion in Esparto, a small rural town in Yolo County about 40 miles west of Sacramento.
“While our Arson & Bomb Investigators have completed their evidence collection from the explosion site, the investigation remains very active,” California Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said in the news release. “We continue to remain laser-focused on this investigation as the family and the community deserve answers. The effort to find the cause can take time, and it is our responsibility to ensure we provide a thorough and accurate investigation.”
The fire and series of blasts physically shook parts of Esparto, a town with a population of about 3,500. The explosions rattled businesses and homes, and shot bursts of air through town and inside buildings.
The seven workers who died in the explosions were identified by family members in the days after. Last week, the Yolo County Coroner’s Office confirmed and publicly released their identities after authorities conducted a DNA analysis of human remains recovered from the blast site.
Cal Fire officials said state investigators are conducting “a thorough and comprehensive investigation” and cannot speak about any specific details at this time, fearing doing so could affect the integrity of the investigation. The Office of the State Fire Marshal has taken the lead in the investigation.
A recent investigation by The Sacramento Bee into Devastating Pyrotechnics found that the fireworks company lacked the required local permits and also imported large amounts of raw chemicals known to be used to manufacture explosives, according to shipping and import records. Fireworks experts regarded these records as unusual given the company’s licenses as a wholesaler and public display company.
Because of an apparent “loophole” in California explosives law, Chee, the listed owner and CEO of the company, was eligible for — and received — state explosives licenses despite a felony conviction that barred him from receiving federal licenses from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Nearly any felony record disqualifies a person from holding a federal explosives license, while only explosives, fireworks or arson-related felony convictions disqualify someone from holding state explosives licenses from the state fire marshal, according to state law and Cal Fire regulations.
The fireworks facility, where the company operated not far from the more densely populated core of Esparto, did not have necessary local permits. The facility was zoned only for agricultural use despite the growing fireworks business that, based on a review of satellite images, appears to have expanded its footprint in recent years.
On July 8, San Francisco police and sheriff’s deputies from Sacramento and Yolo counties searched a San Francisco home connected to Devastating Pyrotechnics, amid the ongoing investigations into Chee and the Esparto explosions.
The Bee’s Jake Goodrick and Daniel Lempres contributed to this story.
©2025 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
