A warehouse stocked with Independence Day fireworks erupted in a chain of explosions Tuesday night near Esparto, Yolo County, sending a 15,000-foot smoke column sky-high and scattering live pyrotechnics that ignited roughly 80 acres of tinder-dry grassland. Sheriff’s deputies ordered a one-mile evacuation zone while CAL FIRE tankers and ground crews fought multiple spot fires fanned by 20 mph winds.

Officials said the main blaze was contained by 7:30 p.m., but hot spots smouldered overnight as drones mapped debris for the State Fire Marshal’s bomb squad. Preliminary reports list no injuries, though several commercial structures on the rural industrial site were destroyed. With California already under elevated wildfire alerts, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said the incident “underscores the extreme risk posed by illegal fireworks amid historic drought.” Investigators are interviewing warehouse managers and reviewing surveillance footage; early leads suggest an electrical fault may have ignited stockpiled mortars. Residents of nearby Madison were allowed to return home after midnight, yet authorities warned that additional road closures could follow as crews remove unexploded ordnance today.