Civil suit claims illegal fireworks stored and sold at Esparto blast site

Jake Goodrick, The Sacramento Bee on Jul 22, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A company that farms in Esparto has sued the fireworks operators and property owner connected to the rural Yolo County lot where an unpermitted fireworks facility erupted in a series of explosions earlier this month, killing seven people and sparking a fire that burned nearly 80 surrounding acres.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Yolo Superior Court marks the first formal litigation alleging that the owners of Devastating Pyrotechnics and BlackStar Fireworks, as well as the Yolo County sheriff’s lieutenant who owns the property where the companies operated, were involved in manufacturing and selling illegal fireworks.

The Oakdale Fire, ignited by the July 1 explosions, destroyed crops farmed and equipment owned by Etta James Farming LLC, a company based in Knights Landing that farms 24 acres of wheat and 50 acres of beans near the facility in Esparto, according to the civil complaint.

The two fireworks companies used the facility and property owned by Sam Machado, a Sheriff’s Office lieutenant and defendant in the case, “as part of an unlawful and unpermitted commercial-grade fireworks operation that, upon information and belief, included the storage and sale of illegal fireworks to members of the public,” according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit alleges that Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, and Craig Cutright, owner of BlackStar Fireworks, operated their businesses — both connected to the Esparto facility — and are each synonymous with their companies, rendering them as “mere shells,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit goes on to allege that both men and companies worked in concert.

Machado is believed to have lived in a home on the property with his wife, Tammy Machado, who is also employed by the Sheriff’s Office. Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez said in a statement last week that both employees had been placed on administrative leave amid the ongoing state investigations.

Machado formerly worked as assistant chief of the neighboring Madison Fire Protection District when Lopez, now the sheriff, had been the district’s chief. Machado allegedly allowed and made money from the fireworks operations on his property, according to the lawsuit.

The state fire marshal has taken on the investigation into what caused the deadly series of blasts that shook the small rural community. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies, such as Cal-OSHA, are also investigating the inferno and what led to it.

The neighboring farm company claims that the fireworks operations and property owner ran the fireworks facility recklessly without complying with “basic safety standards,” causing “unreasonable risk of catastrophic explosion and fire,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that explosive materials were improperly stored and maintained at the property, and had not been properly inspected or approved.

The stakeholders had not given notice to neighbors that the facility “was being used as a place to store explosives and build highly flammable and ultra-hazardous fireworks,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit has named more “Does” as being complicit in the damages caused, leaving room to add more defendants to the case as more information about what happened in Esparto comes to light.

“Fireworks can bring joy and celebration, but they are still powerful explosives that must always be manufactured, handled and stored with the utmost care, following all proper procedures, with all required approvals, and under appropriate regulatory oversight,” said Chris Rodriguez, attorney at Singleton Schreiber LLP, which filed the suit on behalf of Etta James Farming.

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