7 bodies found at site of warehouse explosion, Yolo Sheriff’s Dept. says
No one is allowed into the fireworks warehouse site in Esparto, Yolo County. July 1, 2025
ESPARTO, Calif. - Seven bodies have been found inside a fireworks' storage warehouse that was destroyed by an explosion in rural Yolo County.
Lt. Don Harman of the Yolo County Sheriff's Office told KTVU Saturday evening that the seventh body had been recovered from the site in Esparto that afternoon.
Remains were first discovered at the site on Friday, three days after an explosion destroyed the warehouse.
No Positive Identification:
Harman said identification of the remains was pending DNA analysis by the coroner’s office.
Seven people were declared officially unaccounted for in the wake of the explosion, including three brothers who were working at the warehouse which housed a business called Devastating Pyrotechnics.
Family members of two brothers and one step-brother have come forward, telling KTVU that they assume the three young men were inside and did not make it.
They are: brothers Jesus Ramos, 18, and John Ramos, 22, and stepbrother Joel "Jr." Melendez Jr., 28.
"It hurts," Marisol Ramos, said of her sons on Friday after revealing that she was asked to submit DNA sampling to authorities so they could identify her boys. "Sometimes I just feel like i have no more tears."
Left in the Dark:
Bomb investigators from Cal Fire and the Office of the State Fire Marshal are officially leading the investigation, though it is currently unclear why the fireworks warehouse exploded into a ball of flames.
Sacramento TV station KCRA3 reported that the facility was zoned for agricultural use, not for storing fireworks.
KTVU reached out to Devastating Pyrotechnics and received a response from Douglas Horngrad, a lawyer representing the company and its owner, Kenneth Chee.
"We sympathize with those affected by this tragedy. We share their grief," Horngrad said. "I do represent Mr Chee. The facts will show that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. While the case is under investigation, we are deferring all such questions to the proper authorities. Until that investigation is complete, we will have no further public comment."
IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP: GoFundMe accounts have been started for some of the men who are presumed dead inside. One is for Joel "Jr." Melendez, who has a pregnant wife and 11-month-old baby. The other is for his two stepbrothers, John Ramos, 18, who leaves behind a pregnant girlfriend, and Jesus Ramos, 22.
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The Source: Yolo County Sheriff's Office, previous KTVU reporting