Explosion at a California fireworks warehouse sets off fires and forces evacuations

ESPARTO Calif AP An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in northern California caused several fires sending black smoke into the air and forcing evacuations officials explained There were no immediate reports of injuries People were urged to avoid the area of Esparto and Madison for several days following the Tuesday night explosion which set off multiple fireworks and caused a large fire that led to other spot fires and collapsed the building The fire will take time to cool and once it does explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area the Yolo County Sheriff s Office explained in a news release The cause of the explosion was under study the office announced The fire had reached acres hectares as of Tuesday night the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection noted Esparto is in a rural area about miles kilometers northwest of Sacramento We do believe this location is owned by an progressing pyrotechnic license holder Deputy State Fire Marshal Kara Garrett notified KXTV She added This type of happening is very rare as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements but also federal explosive storage requirements Source