‘We want answers.’ Families hold vigil after seven found dead in fireworks factory explosion

ESPARTO, Calif. — In their desperation and grief, three generations of the close-knit Ramos clan have gathered in this dusty lot three quarters of a mile from the site of last week’s massive fireworks explosion — as close as they can get to the site where their beloved sons spent their last day.

They all wear placards around their necks, with photographs of the smiling Ramos brothers, Jhony, 22, and Jesus, 18. They have constructed a small shrine of rocks spelling out the names of the young men. Teddy bears and votive candles and Jesus’ favorite candy, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, sit at the center. They have posted signs on the chain-link fence facing the road, to telegraph their anger at the lack of information from authorities about what happened when the little-known operation exploded into an inferno just days before the Fourth of July.

“7 Days Ignored,” read one sign. “We want answers.”

Despite their presence, and the frequent visits from local television crews, so far there has been no official accounting of the accident, or of the dead.

Nor has there been much information about how and why a hazardous fireworks facility operated here amid the almond orchards and sunflower fields. Nothing about what caused the accident on July 1 that sent residents fleeing and sparked a 78-acre grass fire.

Jhony and Jesus Ramos, as tight as possible for siblings to be, have not been heard from since the accident. Nor has their stepbrother Joel Melendez, 28, or their beloved friend Carlos Rodriguez, according to family members. Authorities say the remains of seven people were recovered from the warehouse.

It was the Ramos brothers’ first day at a temporary job packing fireworks in the busy lead-up to the Fourth of July holiday.

Family members heard news about the explosions and rushed from their homes in the Bay Area to the scene, desperate for information. But none was forthcoming.

For days, they only knew what they saw on television: Something had gone wrong at Devastating Pyrotechnics, a fireworks company that designs and produces huge displays. The company, which has been in business for decades, operates out of San Francisco and a little-noticed operation here at the base of a small valley known in foodie circles for its delicate organic vegetables.

Three days before the biggest fireworks holiday of the year, the building exploded, sparking a fire that raged across the flat valley floor amid the sounds of fireworks popping and shrieking. Rescue workers couldn’t approach the scene because, officials said, it was too dangerous.

A community member with a water irrigation truck had responded to the initial explosion, and recorded a video in which he said that from the center of the flames, he was sure he had heard screams.

“My two sons were killed,” said Jhony Ramos Sr., 45, as he sat with relatives in the shade of a bush. “We are family. We are staying here. We are waiting for some officers to explain everything.”

Jhony Ramos, 45, is the father of two of the victims, brothers Jhony and Jesus, both believed dead.

(Jessica Garrison / Los Angeles Times)

But authorities have told them nothing, he said. Nor have company officials.

Yolo County officials say they notified the family that the remains of seven people had been pulled from the site over the Fourth of July weekend, but confirmation of the victims’ identities is pending DNA tests. Results are expected sometime in the next few days, officials said.

The Ramos brothers had driven up from the Bay Area to the fireworks warehouse with high hopes that work at the facility would lead to a better future.

Jesus Ramos, a soccer and football star who had just graduated from high school, was expecting his first child, due in seven months. That’s why he had been so anxious to get the job, his older brother Ernesto Ramos said.

“He saw it as a new chapter in our life; he was excited,” Syanna Ruiz, Jesus Ramos’ girlfriend, told ABC 10, about his part-time job. “He was excited to be a dad.”

Jesus Ramos started working that day around 7 a.m. and called her around lunch, she said. After making plans to meet up after work, they said their goodbyes and that they loved each other — not knowing it was their last conversation.

Jhony Jr. had gone with his younger brother to the warehouse job — the two brothers did almost everything together.

Their stepbrother, Joel, had helped them get hired; he had worked there for about two years, family members said.

“They were hardworking men,” said Ernesto Ramos. “We don’t come from a rich family, but we always had each other.”

His brothers, he said, “were just getting their lives together.”

Jesus was a soccer player with feet so lightning-fast that he was recruited to play in England, but his mother — protective of her baby — wouldn’t let him go, Ernesto said. He also loved to draw. His older brother and constant companion Jhony was a football linebacker who adored cars.

Charlize Hernandez, left, who lost three cousins in the explosion, and Syanna Ruiz, who lost her boyfriend, Jesus Ramos, place food and drinks that the young men liked at a memorial on Monday.

(Hector Amezcua / TNS)

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Esparto, population 3,700, is a close-knit community, but many said they knew little about the fireworks facility until the explosions shook the ground beneath them.

Sergio Medrano, 30, runs a taco truck that parks on the corner of Road 86A and State Route 16 near the warehouse. He said he was in the truck at about 5:50 p.m. on July 1.

“I started to hear explosions,” he said. “Everything was vibrating. … I was scared. I didn’t know what it was. It sounded very close.”

He took cover on the ground, and as he did, he saw a giant fireball rise up in the sky.

The Esparto Fire Protection District responded to the scene, but could not engage the explosions coming from within the warehouse, and so set about stopping the fire raging across the valley floor.

Signs posted outside the scene of the Yolo County fireworks warehouse explosion.

(Jessica Garrison / Los Angeles Times)

“As an incident commander … it’s a really tough decision to have to make. It’s almost hard to talk about it,” said Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence during a news briefing on Monday. “Staring at that incident, knowing what was occurring, we had to make the most appropriate decision to protect the rest of the lives that were at stake.”

Yolo County officials asked the state Fire Marshal’s office to lead the investigation due to the scope of the accident. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection did not respond to requests for comment.

Devastating Pyrotechnics was a supplier for local fireworks shows, and multiple municipalities, including San José, were forced to cancel their holiday shows due to the accident.

County officials told Sacramento news station KCRA that the Esparto property where the fireworks were stored was zoned for agricultural purposes and not for storing explosive materials.

Devastating Pyrotechnics owner and Chief Executive Kenneth Chee could not be reached for comment.

His attorney, Douglas Horngrad, said in a statement that his client “is innocent of any wrongdoing. Until the investigation is concluded, we will refrain from further public comment. Once again, we express our heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones.”

California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said his office is working with federal and local investigators to determine how the explosion occurred.

“While it’s too early to speculate what went wrong, we will hold anyone accountable if we find that they violated our state’s stringent fireworks laws and regulations,” Berlant said in a statement.

According to county records, the warehouse was on property owned by a Yolo County sheriff’s deputy, Sam Machado. His home was destroyed in the fire, according to county officials.

A volunteer firefighter with the Esparto Fire Protection District, Craig Cutright, appeared to have operated a separate fireworks business on the same property and was employed by Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to news station KCRA.

Cutright is on a leave of absence, Lawrence said.

“I don’t have any comments on the investigation … I can’t answer those appropriately,” Lawrence said. “As much as you all want answers and the family want answers to these things, we have an obligation to make sure that this is done the right way and done thoroughly.”

And so the Ramos family, along with friends, wait here — under the shelter of a shade structure donated by the county and the shadow of the low-growing bushes. Residents of Esparto, stricken by the loss, have been dropping off food. On Monday, pizza boxes piled up on a table.

Family members and friends fiddled with the placards they wore baring the brothers’ photographs. They watched TikTok videos of the day of the accident, and of subsequent news coverage.

There had never been an explicit discussion about creating this vigil here, several family members had said. They had just all come.

“It never really was organized,” said Ernesto Ramos. “We’ve been here since it started. It’s family.”

The sky above was blue, without a cloud in sight. The fireworks facility wasn’t visible beyond the leafy green canopy of the almond orchards. Fire trucks and officials state vehicles drove by, heading to and from the site. In the late afternoon, the air began to ring out with the sound of loud pops. The bomb squads were detonating more fireworks to try to make the area safe.

The family barely reacted to the explosions. They stayed in the hot sun and waited for answers.