ESPARTO, Calif. – The Esparto Fire Protection District, Yolo County Office of Emergency Services (OES), and CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) are issuing an informational update Wednesday evening for the Oakdale Incident involving an explosion at a pyrotechnics facility in Esparto.

Local Response

Esparto Fire Protection District and local first responders have been prioritizing efforts to gain access to the facility to mitigate hazards with the use of firefighting equipment. Those efforts are underway as of Wednesday afternoon and will continue throughout the evening. Part of that prioritization is to enable safe access to the site to conduct recovery operations and bolster investigative efforts for the explosion investigation.

The scene currently remains active and hazardous with explosions continuing to occur throughout the afternoon and evening.

State Response

CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal remains in the role as the lead investigative authority. The CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit (LNU) responded to the incident Tuesday evening in the capacity of an assisting agency to the Esparto Fire Protection District, who has jurisdiction of the incident. CAL FIRE LNU’s role was in addressing spot fires and perimeter control for the vegetation fires. LNU responded with four engines, a dozer, one crew, an air tactical aircraft and one helicopter. All LNU resources were released by 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Federal Response

A National Response Team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been called in to assist responders with this incident. ATF’s National Response Team brings unparalleled expertise and cutting-edge equipment to major fire and explosive investigations. They are comprised of highly-trained Special Agents, Certified Fire Investigators, Fire Protection Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Forensic Chemists, Certified Explosives Specialists, an Intelligence Research Specialists, a Medic and an Accelerant Detection K-9 Team.

Victim Services

The Yolo County District Attorney Victim Services Program is available with a myriad of services they can provide to the family members of the seven individuals who remain unaccounted for. A contact number for the Yolo County Victim Services Program is 530-666-8352.