Stephen Gordon, whose family farm borders the property where the explosion occurred, said he was working outside when it happened.
“I heard it and turned around and I saw the plume and I saw fireworks,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, they must have just lit something off,’ and then that initial explosion happened you realized it was a lot more serious.”
Gordon’s home suffered minor damage, but his 27-acre farm lost power and water for several days; a significant concern during the summer heat.
“Honestly, nothing,” Gordon said, when asked what kind of support he expects. “When you own your own business or when you run your own small business whether it’s farming or car body cleaning or whatever it is, you know there’s no automatic escape plan.”
Grant Michaelson lives a quarter mile away from the facility and was at home with his wife when the explosion happened. He thought it was a plane crash when he first heard it.
“Like a jet engine basically and then the house started shaking,” he said. “Like the first three seconds, you really can’t fathom what’s going on. It was nuts. And then once I got outside after getting my shoes back on again, I looked immediately that way and I could see that it was the fireworks facility.”
The damage to Michaelson’s property was significant, and his property still hasn’t regained access to running water and electricity.
“It blew out all of our windows in our house except for two,” he added. “I had a brand new shop that I just built, a steel building, and it buckled the west side facing the explosion, so it put some significant damage on that. Both of my roll-up doors need to be replaced.”
On Tuesday, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency in response to the explosion and resulting fire. The declaration allows the county to request assistance from state and federal agencies, citing extensive damage to homes, farmland and infrastructure within a half mile of the blast site.
Back on his farm, Gordon said he’s also worried for the family who owns the property the fireworks storage facility is located on, noting that they’ve been part of the community for decades.
A recent KCRA investigation found that the property owner, Sam Machado, did not have proper permits to store anything other than agricultural equipment on his property.
“I think they deserve the respect and support that we need to kind of get to the bottom of what really happened,” Gordon said. “It’s been a week and the story has changed three or four times. To immediately start pointing fingers and trying to place blame, I think is just very unfair to both the victims and the people involved for sure.”
According to the investigation, had the property been properly permitted, it would have had to meet certain protocols, including limiting the amount of fireworks within the facility and having them clearly marked.
Gordon acknowledged that he is biased when speaking about the family, but he said they’re victims too.
“I doubt that they’re on the property, I doubt that they’ve had power back and that’s going to be like that for a while,” he said. “In my mind, I think they deserve the peace and state of mind and the space they need to figure out for their family. I can only hope that they find that right now.”
