A FIREWORKS warehouse in northern California was completely destroyed in a huge blast, forcing residents to desperately flee their homes.
The huge explosion tore through the facility on Tuesday evening, not far from the small communities of Esparto and Madison in Yolo County.
Terrified homeowners said the ground trembled beneath them as towering inferno engulfed multiple structures.
Esparto local Bryan Sandoval told the Sacramento Bee: “All we felt was everything shake.”
He and his family evacuated immediately as smoke and fireworks lit up the sky.
Footage from the scene shows white smoke billowing from the roof of the warehouse before it is engulfed by a fireball in a violent explosion.
Fireworks burst midair above the wreckage, crackling and exploding as if part of a chaotic, unplanned display.
A massive column of smoke soared up to 15,000 feet, visible for miles around.
Videos showed a frightening scene as out-of-control fireworks shot off in all directions, sparking fires in the dry grass and fields near the warehouse.
The flames quickly spread across an estimated 80 acres of surrounding land, threatening nearby highways and farmland.
Several commercial buildings on the property were completely consumed by fire, according to Esparto Fire Protection District Chief Curtis Lawrence.
Firefighters arrived at the scene just before 6 pm, encountering several commercial buildings heavily engulfed in flames along with numerous explosions and scattered spot fires in the vicinity, according to Lawrence.
By 7.30pm, crews had managed to halt the fire’s advance, but hot spots continued to smoulder overnight.
The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office issued a one-mile evacuation order shortly after the initial blast.
“Currently, the cause of the explosion is still undetermined,” the office stated, noting the use of drones to examine the debris, with further updates to be provided as the investigation progresses.
Officials from the State Fire Marshal’s arson and bomb investigation unit are working to find the cause of the fire.
Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit confirmed that both air and ground crews were deployed to prevent the blaze from leaping into more rural land near Highway 16 and Oakdale Lane.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, and authorities have not yet said what triggered the blast.
Roads were shut down and residents forced from their homes, though some were allowed to return by Tuesday night.
The warehouse explosion comes at a perilous time—just two days ahead of the July 4 holiday, when fireworks demand peaks and wildfire risk runs high.
“Our Public Safety Partners are currently investigating the cause of the large explosions near the Esparto area,” Winters Police said in a social media post.
It comes after 44 people were killed after a chemical reactor exploded inside a drug factory in India.
Dozens are still missing after Monday’s horror blast sparked an inferno and burnt the building to the ground – leaving workers trapped inside.
The chemical factory, used by Sigachi Industries, sat in the Pashamylaram industrial estate in Telangana’s Sangareddy district.
Police in Telangana said more than 140 people were working in the plant at the time of the blast with more than 60 directly impacted.
Last week, at least 29 students died and another 250 were injured after an explosion sparked a stampede at a high school.
Students were taking their final exams when an electrical transformer exploded in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
