New records confirm Cal Fire knew Esparto company dealt in illegal fireworks

Joe Rubin, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 16, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A search warrant that led to a raid of a Southern California fireworks warehouse shows that Cal Fire investigators suspected a Yolo County company of dealing in illegal explosives at least six weeks before its headquarters exploded and caught fire, killing seven workers in Esparto.

The documents, obtained Friday in response to a public records request by The Sacramento Bee, show that Cal Fire officials knew with certainty the seized fireworks belonged to Devastating Pyrotechnics but did not follow up with a similar raid in Esparto.

Cal Fire has previously claimed that any information they had connecting Devastating Pyrotechnics to the raid on the Commerce warehouse was not enough to warrant an investigation of buildings the company owned and operated in Esparto. The Commerce raid netted 500,000 pounds of fireworks, making it the largest seizure of fireworks in the state’s history.

The documents include a search warrant request, submitted to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge by Office of State Fire Marshal Arson and Bomb Investigator Nicholas Schroeder. In the request, Schroeder states Johnny Chek, the Commerce warehouse owner, told him he was paid by Kenneth Chee, the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, to store fireworks.

“He informed me that he was being paid by ‘Kenny’ to store his 1.3 Commercial fireworks (these items are considered explosives)…I followed up with Chek and confirmed that ‘Kenny’ was Kenneth Chee, a licensed subject through our Office and owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics,” Schroeder states in the warrant. “Your affiant further believes that Kenneth Chee, the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, is utilizing TYI Trading to facilitate illegal fireworks sales outside the scope of his license.”

Import data reviewed by The Bee shows that after the Commerce raid, Devastating Pyrotechnics brought seven shipments of fireworks into California, including four shipments of professional grade fireworks and three shipments of consumer grade fireworks, totalling more than 300,000 pounds.

Had officials followed up and inspected the sprawling property in Esparto, they would have found a warehouse packed floor-to-ceiling with illegal fireworks, as well as volatile chemicals used in the manufacturing of black market illegal fireworks. That operation, run in the backyard of a property of a sheriff’s lieutenant, appeared to have operated in plain view of authorities for years before the tragedy.

The affidavit from Schroeder appears to contradict previous comments made by State Fire Marshal, Daniel Berlant, regarding the potential connection between the Commerce fireworks seizure and Esparto.

Cal Fire said it was in ‘difficult position’

Berlant has conducted several interviews with The Bee, often stressing that Cal Fire is in a difficult position because it is limited to what it can say about a criminal investigation.

Asked about the Commerce raid, Berlant said in a November interview: “There was a lot of finger-pointing and a lot of assertions made by that individual, specifically Mr. Chek. And so as part of any investigation, we then had to start beginning the process to unwind what was true, what were false statements.”

In a follow-up statement Friday, Berlant responded to the new information in the search warrant. “We are striving to provide you with as much information and documents as possible, as quickly as we can, while maintaining the integrity of this investigation,” Berlant said.

He added: “It’s been our commitment to be as transparent as possible, without adversely impacting the investigation and any potential prosecution arising from it.”

‘It’s mind boggling’

Six months after the tragedy, Cal Fire and the Yolo County District Attorney are under increasing pressure to conclude a criminal investigation into the Esparto explosion. Families of some of the victims have filed a civil suit seeking more than $35 million from Cal Fire, the Esparto Fire Protection District and Yolo County.

Charley Weeth, a fireworks expert who has assisted federal officials on fireworks regulation, said the comments in the search warrant raised questions about officials’ failure to connect the dots between the fireworks seized in Southern California and the Yolo County company that owned them.

“It is mind boggling that federal and state officials had credible information that these companies were importing massive quantities of overloads and display firework to bootleg in California, yet even after serving a warrant and a seizure at one company location, Esparto continued to operate,” Weeth said.”

In his statement, Berlant said that Cal Fire has “convened a task force of public safety leaders to review the potential gaps highlighted by recent alleged crimes and regulatory violations.”

The task force plans to present a report to Cal Fire’s Fireworks Advisory Committee later this month “so that our Office can take meaningful steps to improve fireworks licensing and enforcement efforts.”

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