Fireworks task force recommends dozens of changes after deadly Esparto blast

Nearly nine months to the day after a massive explosion killed seven men and leveled a fireworks facility in the rural Northern California community of Esparto on July 1, 2025, a report from a state task force laid out 37 recommendations officials say will modernize oversight, close legal loopholes, and strengthen coordination between local, state and federal officials.

"There's a lot of gaps that we need to continue to close," said Chief Daniel Berlant, state fire marshal.

Some of the recommendations will require a California law change, work that Berlant says is underway by local lawmakers.

Berlant adds that the outlined regulatory changes that are within his office's power are already being immediately implemented in the aftermath of Esparto.

"One of the issues that were identified from this case was the fact that the federal minimum qualifications to get a fireworks license and the state law minimum qualifications to get a fireworks license are different. The state standard is actually lower," Berlant said.

This is why the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, Kenneth Chee, was able to get a state fireworks license even though he had been denied a federal license through the ATF because of a gun-related felony conviction.

Devastating Pyrotechnics and a second fireworks company called Blackstar Fireworks had been operating on the land zoned only for agricultural use for several years, expanding their business operations in the months before the deadly blast.

Another catch under state law is that Chee was not required to then go and get the permits needed to operate at the local level after getting his state fireworks license. So, he did not, county officials confirm.

The task force report comes just days after a civil grand jury report found that dozens of Yolo County officials knew about the unpermitted facility and still turned a blind eye to it.

Because of the lack of local oversight, the Esparto operation, which sat on land owned by multiple Yolo County Sheriff's Office employees, was never properly inspected or regulated.

It took tragedy for that deadly loophole to be exposed.

"We are really making sure that at the local level, they're aware of state licenses. Making sure that at our level, we're aware of whether they have local permits. That's an easy one that we early identified as a problem," Berlant said.

Berlant calls these good first steps for desperately needed change amid what he calls an upward trend of illegal fireworks activity across California.

The main motivation is the seven grieving families. 

"My heart is broken and totally destroyed. Do the right thing," said Lupe Melendez Mendoza in an interview with CBS Sacramento last week.

Mendoza's son, Junior Melendez, was killed in the blast. She has pushed to uncover and expose the shortfalls that she says led to her son's life being cut short.

"What was it? I want to know because every day I ask myself. I wanted to be there to protect him. I wanted to be there to shield them," said Mendoza through tears.

Another big change stemming from the recommendations, the state fire marshal's office now plans to coordinate on-site checks for all fireworks license holders across California.

State inspectors had never once visited the Esparto facility before the deadly blast; that responsibility fell only to local authorities, until now.

"That's not a requirement in the law of us to do, that's not necessarily a requirement of the base of the license. But, we're making sure that we're going to be bringing locals on board and ensuring that the existing license holders are following the rules," said Berlant.

It is not just the tragedy in Esparto that inspired these recommendations.

Several months before the fatal blast, the fire marshal's office raided a warehouse in Commerce, California and seized over half a million pounds of illegal fireworks from operators who also did not have a local permit.

As for what comes next, on April 21, the General Fireworks Advisory Committee will review the task force report, consider feedback and provide any additional insight before it is finalized.

Local officials, including the fire marshal of Sacramento Metro Fire and the Lincoln police chief, contributed to the report's findings.