Seven individuals are still missing as of Thursday evening, after a massive explosion two days prior at a fireworks storage warehouse in Esparto led to a series of fires and blasts that were heard and felt as far away as Vacaville and Woodland.

According to a KRCA 3 Investigates report, the facility was using a property that was not zoned for fireworks storage but only for agricultural use.

To store anything other than agricultural equipment, the property owner would have had to have gotten a Conditional Use Permit from the Yolo County Planning Commission. According to KCRA’s reporting, planning staff confirmed no such permit exists.

At around 1:45 p.m. Thursday, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and Yolo County District Supervisor Angel Barajas held a press briefing, during which no new information was revealed. It was also announced that no additional questions would be taken, and as of that moment, no further update was planned for the day.

“We extend our deepest concern to those impacted and our thoughts remain especially with the families of the seven individuals still unaccounted for,” Barajas said. “This is a tragic and evolving situation, and we want to express our profound gratitude to the first responders, fire personnel, law enforcement agencies, and supporting partners from across the region who worked through the night to contain the fire, secure the scene, and protect residents.”

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy,” said District 3 Supervisor Mary Vixie-Sandy. “We stand with the Esparto community and will continue to support the response and recovery in every way possible.”

On Thursday morning, Pacific Gas & Electric Company announced that PG&E had begun restoring power in Esparto after experiencing numerous outages through Wednesday.

“Firefighters are gradually provided PG&E access to the area, and as we gain access, our crews are able to make repairs and restore power to customers,” a PG&E statement read. “Initially, more than 2,000 customers were without power Tuesday evening, and 89 remain without power as of Thursday morning, with most of them within the evacuation zone and are not yet home. We hope to have customers restored before evacuation orders are lifted.”

At around 10 a.m. Thursday, Yolo County released an updated evacuation map for zones MAD-063-C and MAD-063-D. Zones were able to view at protect.genasys.com/search.

The Yolo County Public Library Esparto Branch remains open as an evacuation center.

Reports in Woodland, approximately 14 miles away from Madison and Esparto, indicated that a loud “boom” could be heard throughout the entire city, while other confirmed reports stated that the blast was felt as far south as Vacaville, 28 miles away. The first reports about the explosion were posted on social media sites on Tuesday around 5:52 p.m.

According to a KCRA 3 news report, spot fires and non-stop smaller explosions, which appeared to be fireworks, continued throughout Tuesday night as emergency crews waited out the situation while keeping people out of the area.

According to the California Highway Patrol, as of Thursday, the current roads closed include:

CR-86A at CR-25

CR-86A at State Route Highway 16

County Road 23 at County Road 87B

County Road 86 at County Road 2

Investigators are still working with the property owner — pyrotechnics company Devastating Pyrotechnics — to locate the individuals.

In a news release issued Wednesday afternoon, the company said “Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community. We are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and emergency personnel. Our focus will remain on those directly impacted by this tragedy, and we will cooperate fully with the proper authorities in their investigation.”

“The fire will take time to cool, and once it does, explosive experts must safely enter the site to assess and secure the area,” a statement released on Tuesday from the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office read. “We strongly urge everyone to continue avoiding the area for the next several days so that fire crews, law enforcement, and emergency personnel can do their jobs safely and effectively.

“The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office will provide updates as more information becomes available.”