ESPARTO, Calif. — Rescue crews were searching on Thursday for seven people still missing days after an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Northern California shook a tiny farming community and forced the cancellation of nearby July Fourth celebrations.
Family members gathered near a sheriff’s checkpoint about a mile from the blast site in rural Esparto, hoping for news about their loved ones. Syanna Ruiz, who is pregnant, said her boyfriend, 18-year-old Jesus Ramos, was working his first day at the warehouse when the explosion occurred.
“I’m just praying to God that some way, somehow, they’re OK,” Ruiz told the Sacramento Bee on Wednesday.
People were urged to avoid the area after the Tuesday night blast, which set off a barrage of fireworks and caused a massive blaze that led to other spot fires and collapsed the building in Yolo County about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento.
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