California: Seven missing after explosion at fireworks warehouse in California | US News

Seven people are missing after an explosion at a fireworks warehouse.

People were urged to avoid an area in rural Northern California on Tuesday night, after an explosion at a building near Esparto, a community of around 3,000 people, 40 miles (65km) from Sacramento.

The blast set off a barrage of fireworks and sent a fireball into the air, launching debris and causing a huge blaze that led to other spot fires.

After scorching agricultural fields, the fire caused by the explosion was under control at nearly 80 acres on Wednesday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Emergency crews and investigators are working with the property’s owner and monitoring the area using drones to find the missing people, it added.

It is unclear if those unaccounted for worked at the warehouse or lived nearby.

The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release: “The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area.”

Evacuation orders are still in place, authorities said.

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Deputy state fire marshal Kara Garrett told local media: “This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements.”

Two nearby counties have said they are seeking alternatives for Fourth of July celebrations, as their fireworks were destroyed in the blast.