State fire authorities have moved to revoke the pyrotechnic licenses of the companies and their owners who were keeping fireworks in a Yolo County storage facility that exploded in July, killing seven people.
In a statement, Cal Fire said its Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined through its administrative investigation that Kenneth Chee and Craig Cutright and their respective companies violated firework laws and regulations. Chee owns Devastating Pyrotechnics, Inc., and Cutright owns Blackstar Fireworks.
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The explosion happened just after 6 p.m. on July 1 near County Road 23 and County Road 86A in Esparto, a small, rural town about 37 miles west of Sacramento. Video footage captured the explosion, which also caused a wildfire that burned about 80 acres.
Three brothers, two of them East Bay residents, were among the seven who died.
State Fire Marshal and Cal Fire Chief Daniel Berlant said in a statement that investigators have concluded the probe into the administrative licenses of the owners and companies but that the investigation into what caused the blast continues.
“Since the explosion, our arson and bomb investigators and deputy state fire marshals have been laser focused on not only determining the circumstances leading up to the incident, but also whether or not the operators were working with their state-issued licenses,” Berlant said in a statement.
In the statement, Cal Fire said “several” fireworks laws and regulations were violated. Among them, the agency said proper importation documents were not filed, that lost fireworks were not reported, and that fireworks were possessed without a local fire permit
Cal Fire said “numerous additional allegations” remain part of the criminal probe. The agency did not specify them.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office has said it will convene a Public Safety Fireworks Enforcement Task Force to review existing fireworks enforcement efforts and state fireworks regulations.
The Sacramento Bee reported that law enforcement officers raided a San Francisco home associated with Devastating Pyrotechnics on July 13.
Please check back for updates.
