San Jose fireworks show canceled due to Yolo County warehouse blast

SAN JOSE – A major explosion at a pyrotechnics facility in Yolo County has forced the cancelation of a Fourth of July fireworks display at Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose, but a celebration will still take place, according to an city official.

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San Jose City Councilmember Domingo Candelas announced the news in a social media post Wednesday.

“Our fireworks vendor was directly impacted by the warehouse explosion late last night in Yolo County,” Candelas said. “However, we are working to pivot to a drone show.”

The pyrotechnics facility, located at County Road 23 and County Road 86A in Esparto, exploded around 6 p.m. Tuesday and touched off a 78-acre fire. Seven people remain unaccounted for, Cal Fire, the Esparto Fire Protection District and the Yolo County Office of Emergency Services said in a joint news release Wednesday.

“First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals,” authorities said.

Evacuation orders remain in place around the property as crews continue to assess the site for hazards.

Cal Fire said it believes the property is owned by an active pyrotechnic license holder.

“As part of our investigation, we will be working to determine that everything happening at the facility was within license requirements,” authorities said. “This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements.”

The celebration at Lake Cunningham Park will begin at 3 p.m. Friday, Candelas said. There is no on-site event parking, he added, and attendees are encouraged to park at Eastridge Mall and take the free shuttles from the JC Penney lot to the park.

Road closures along the perimeter of the park will take place as scheduled for the day, Candelas said.

The cancelation of the Lake Cunningham Park fireworks display follows the city’s decision last month to call off a similar show at Almaden Lake Park. Officials said that event had outgrown the park as a venue. Last year, a fire broke out during the show.

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