Authorities in Northern California’s Yolo County said seven people were missing after a massive explosion at a fireworks warehouse that sparked an 80-acre wildfire, prompting evacuation orders that remain in place.
The exact cause of the Tuesday night blast at the warehouse in Esparto, a rural area about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento, is under investigation, Cal Fire said in a news release.
The explosion caused an enormous fire that led to other spot fires in farmlands and fields surrounding the area and caused the collapse of the warehouse itself.
The owner of the property, who holds “an active pyrotechnic license,” was reportedly cooperating with emergency crews searching for the seven unaccounted individuals, both on land and with drones for aerial surveillance.
It was not immediately clear if those missing worked at the facility or were residents who lived nearby.
While the blaze has been contained, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office urged residents to avoid the area.
“The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosives experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “We strongly urge everyone to continue avoiding the area for the next several days so that fire crews, law enforcement and emergency personnel can do their jobs safely and effectively.”
Officials at Cal Fire said the investigation would focus on ensuring that everything happening at the warehouse before the explosion was within state and federal license requirements.
“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,” officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.