LiveCopter 3 shows man arrested at closed-off site of Esparto fireworks facility explosions
WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS. SEVEN PEOPLE ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR RIGHT NOW AFTER EXPLOSIONS DESTROYED A FIREWORKS FACILITY IN ESPARTA. WE NOW KNOW TWO PEOPLE WERE INJURED, BUT THEY ARE EXPECTED TO BE OKAY. THEY’RE ALREADY OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. LIVECOPTER3 WAS OVERHEAD YESTERDAY EVENING AS THIS WAS ALL UNFOLDING DURING THE 6:00 HOUR. FLAMES FORCED FIREWORKS TO IGNITE, LEADING TO SEVERAL EXPLOSIONS ACROSS THE SITE. AND WE’RE NOW GETTING A BETTER LOOK AT THE DAMAGE. THE PROPERTY IS LEVELED THIS AFTERNOON. KCRA 3’S LEE ANNE DENYER IS LIVE FOR US IN LIVECOPTER3 WITH A LOOK FROM ABOVE AT WHAT’S LEFT. LEANNE. YEAH, LISA, SINCE WE LAST SAW YOU, WE’VE SPENT THE LAST LITTLE BIT LOOKING FOR ANY OBVIOUS SIGNS OF DAMAGE TO THE HOMES THAT ARE AROUND THE COUNTY ROAD 23. FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT, WE ARE QUITE HIGH UP. AT THIS POINT. WE HAVEN’T SEEN ANY OBVIOUS SIGNS. BUT IT’S NOT TO SAY THAT THAT DAMAGE DOESN’T EXIST, BUT WE’RE JUST TRYING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE WITH OUR CAPABILITIES AND OUR CAMERA HERE. BUT LET’S GO AHEAD AND GO OUTSIDE SO YOU CAN ALL GET AN IDEA OF WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT UP HERE. YOU CAN SEE JUST THE CHARRED FIELDS AND JUST THIS GRAY RECTANGLE OF OF DESTRUCTION FROM THE AREA. SOMETHING THAT WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THROUGHOUT THIS. WHILE THIS IS A RATHER RURAL AREA, THERE ARE HOMES. AND WE DID HEAR FROM FROM LOTS OF FOLKS WHO REPORTED EITHER FEELING THE IMPACT OF THESE EXPLOSIONS OR REPORTED NUMEROUS ISSUES AT THEIR HOME THAT THEY BELIEVE WAS A RESULT OF JUST THE THE POWER AND THE INTENSITY OF THAT EXPLOSION. BUT FROM FLYING AROUND OVER THE LAST FEW FEW MINUTES, WE HAVEN’T SEEN ANY OBVIOUS SIGNS OF THAT FROM HERE. BUT YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW FAR THIS PERIMETER DOES GO. JUST THOSE LITTLE WHITE DOTS. YOU CAN SEE JUST THE DEBRIS AND THE SHRAPNEL THAT DID JUST EXTEND OUT THROUGHOUT THIS AREA. AND WHICH IS WHY IT ILLUSTRATES WHY OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO SAY THAT THEY NEED TO KEEP THIS PERIMETER UP, AND IT IS NOT SAFE FOR THEM AND THEIR CREWS TO GO IN. BUT OVER THE LAST FEW HOURS, AS WE STARTED TO HEAR FROM FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW FOLKS WHO WORKED AT THIS FACILITY OR THEIR LOVED ONES WERE POTENTIALLY THERE AT THE TIME, WE KNOW JUST HOW FRUSTRATING THIS MUST BE FOR THEM, AND WE CAN HEAR IT IN THEIR VOICES THAT THEY WANT ANSWERS. AND WE DO HOPE THAT THIS AT LEAST GIVES THEM THEM SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SHOW THESE PICTURES OF WHAT WE’RE SEEING FROM THE AIR AS WE’RE UNABLE TO GET CLOSER ON THE GROUND, AS I’M SURE THEY ARE UNABLE TO, TO REALLY TRY TO GET IN AND FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THEIR LOVED ONES. SO WE DO HOPE THAT THIS IS HELPFUL IN SOME WAY, BECAUSE YOU CAN JUST SEE JUST THE THE SHEER INTENSITY AND CALISTA, I DO BELIEVE IT LOOKS LIKE THERE’S A PERSON THERE NOW THAT WE’RE WATCHING THIS LIVE. I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHO THIS PERSON MIGHT BE, BUT I JUST NOTICED IT IN MY SCREEN, JUST IN FRONT OF ME. SO IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE TAKING PHOTOS. YOU HAVE TO ASSUME AT THIS POINT THAT THIS IS THIS IS AN INVESTIGATOR, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO ASSUME ON THE AIR WHO THIS PERSON MAY OR MAY NOT BE. BUT WE DID JUST NOTICE THIS INDIVIDUAL WALKING THROUGH THE DEBRIS HERE, APPEARING TO TAKE PHOTOS. SO WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SEND SOME QUESTIONS OFF TO OFFICIALS TO TO SEE IF THEY CAN CONFIRM CONFIRM ANYTHING. LET’S GO AHEAD AND DO THAT. AND I’M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND SEND IT ON BACK TO YOU GUYS FOR NOW, JUST REAL QUICKLY. I MEAN, AS WE SEE THIS PERSON WALKING AROUND HERE, IF WE PULL OUT, DO WE SEE ANY VEHICLES OF ANY FIRST RESPONDERS OR ANYBODY WHO ARE NOW COMING INTO THIS AREA? AS WE KNOW THAT THEY’VE KEPT THEIR DISTANCE FOR SOME TIME BECAUSE OF THE THREAT TO THE AREA. BUT I’M JUST CURIOUS IF IT APPEARS ANY ANYBODY HAS COME IN CLOSE. THERE’S A VEHICLE. YEAH, THERE’S THIS VEHICLE RIGHT HERE, THIS WHITE VEHICLE, AND IT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. I CANNOT SEE OH, THERE WE GO. IT’S AN OFFICIAL THAT’S HELPFUL. IT LOOKS LIKE A FIRE OFFICIAL. I CAN’T MAKE OUT WHICH AGENCY. IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S POTENTIALLY ESPARTA FROM. FROM HERE. SO WE WILL BE TRYING TO GET SOME QUESTIONS OUT TO THEM TO SEE IF THIS IS AN UPDATE AND THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO INSIDE. AND LIKE WE SAW JUST A MOMENT AGO, TAKE SOME PHOTOS. AND AGAIN, JUST ASSESS THE GRAVITY OF THIS SITUATION AND WHAT THEY’RE DEALING WITH ON THE GROUND, BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY’VE BEEN USING AIR RESOURCES TO TRY TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE AND ASSESS THE RISK AND TO MAKE THE DECISION AND USE THAT INFORMATION TO MAKE THEIR DECISIONS AS TO WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET IN ON FOOT. SO FROM WHAT WE’RE SEEING, IT DOES APPEAR 1 TO 2 PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE AND TAKING PHOTOS. AND THAT WOULD BE THAT WOULD BE QUITE THE DEVELOPMENT ON OUR END. YEAH, WE’RE WE’RE APPROACHING 23 HOURS NOW SINCE THE FIRST EXPLOSION HAPPENED. AND SO FINALLY, IT MAY BE SAFE ENOUGH TO GET SOMEBODY CLOSE ENOUGH TO TRY TO SURVEY EXACTLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE. AND SO WE DO APPRECIATE THE PERSPECTIVE FROM THE AIR. YEAH. AND ALSO, LEANNE, I’M NOTICING JUST SINCE THE LAST TIME WE WERE TALKING DURING THE NOON HOUR, WE STILL WERE SEEING FLAMES. WE WERE STILL SEEING, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL LITTLE SPOT FIRES. THOSE ALL SEEM TO BE GONE FOR THE MOST PART IN THE LAST FOUR HOURS OR SO. YEAH, DEFINITELY. WHEN WE LEFT, WHEN WE FLEW BACK TO REFUEL AFTER THE NEWS OR THE 1:00 PRESS CONFERENCE, WE DID STILL SEE SOME FLAMES AND SOME BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM THE STORAGE. ONE OF THESE STORAGE CONTAINERS. WHEN WE FLEW BACK. THERE’S STILL A LITTLE BIT OF SMOKE, BUT BUT NOT THE THE HEAVY BLACK SMOKE THAT WE WERE SEEING AND NOT THOSE FLAMES THAT WE SAW AT NOON AND INTO THE 130 OR SO TIME STAMP, IF YOU WILL. SO THAT YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT IS A CHANGE FROM WHAT WE LAST SAW EARLIER TODAY, BUT THERE IS STILL SOME SMOLDERING AND YOU DO STILL SEE SOME OF THAT LIGHT GRAY SMOKE COMING UP FROM, FROM PARTS OF THIS, THIS EXPLOSION SITE. SO YOU THINK THAT YOU SEE TWO PEOPLE DOWN THERE, LEANNE? I MEAN, WE SAW CLEARLY SAW ONE PERSON AND IT’S HARD TO TELL IF THEY’RE EVEN WITH THAT VEHICLE BECAUSE THAT VEHICLE WAS STARTING TO DO A THREE POINT TURN AND KIND OF LOOKED LIKE IT WAS HEADED OUT. I COULD SEE ONE PERSON RIGHT NOW. IS THE VEHICLE STILL THERE? I THOUGHT I SAW TWO, BUT AGAIN, I DON’T WANT TO MAKE ANY ASSUMPTIONS. AND AGAIN, WE’RE ALL DOING THIS WITH YOU IN REAL TIME. IT DOES APPEAR IF YOU LOOK STRAIGHT UP, YOU CAN SEE ONE PERSON WALKING AROUND FROM THE MOTIONS. IT DOES APPEAR THAT THEY’RE TAKING PHOTOS, BUT WHO THIS PERSON IS EXACTLY UNCLEAR AT THIS POINT, BUT WE DID SEE THAT FIRE VEHICLE ON THE ROAD. NEARBY, AND I DID. I DO BELIEVE I SAW ONE ADDITIONAL PERSON OVER THAT WAY. BUT WE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, SPINNING THE CAMERA AROUND. AND AGAIN, WE’RE ON THIS, YOU KNOW, WE’RE WATCHING THIS WITH YOU AT HOME AND WITH YOU AT THE, AT THE DESK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT EXACTLY WE’RE LOOKING AT. THE CHIMNEY THERE ON THE LEFT, THAT IS ONE OF THE HOMES THAT ARE NOW GONE. AND OF COURSE, THE POOL THERE. AND SO THAT INVESTIGATOR IS NOW GOING, TAKING PICTURES RIGHT THERE OF THE WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE HOME AND OF THAT POOL. WELL, WE DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S AN INVESTIGATOR FOR SURE. WE JUST KNOW THAT THAT’S A PERSON. THIS HAS BEEN DEEMED A CRIME SCENE. AND SO WHOEVER THIS PERSON IS, THEY ARE WALKING THROUGH A CRIME SCENE RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS IS AN OFFICIAL OR IF THIS IS JUST MAYBE SOMEBODY WHO OWNS THE PROPERTY OR IS RELATED TO THE PROPERTY IN SOME WAY, OR IS A NEIGHBOR. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS PERSON IS, AND IF WE CAN ZOOM OUT, WE CAN SEE IF THAT OTHER VEHICLE IS STILL THERE. IT LOOKS LIKE LAW ENFORCEMENT IS COMING UP ON THE SCENE, AND SO THEY’RE PROBABLY GOING TO QUESTION THIS PERSON BECAUSE AGAIN, THEY WERE REALLY CLEAR TODAY THAT THIS IS A CRIME SCENE IN KCRA 3’S. MICHELLE BANDUR PRESSED THEM ON THIS AND ASKED, IT LOOKS LIKE HE HANDED HIM SOMETHING, MAYBE HANDING HIM AN ID OF SOME SORT. MICHELLE BANDUR PRESSED THEM AND SAID, WHY IS THIS A CRIME SCENE? YOU CAN SEE THIS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ASKING THEM TO KIND OF COME OVER WITH THEM AS THEY’RE WALKING OVER TO THE SIDE. SO THERE’S REALLY NO WORD ON WHO THIS PERSON IS. WE DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS AN OFFICIAL OR NOT. WHO KNOWS WHAT THEIR ID SAYS OR LOOKS LIKE. CHP IS RUNNING THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY WERE VERY CLEAR TODAY DURING THAT 1:00 PRESS CONFERENCE THAT THIS IS A CRIME SCENE. AND THEY ELABORATED ON IT A LITTLE BIT. THEY DIDN’T REALLY GIVE US VERY SPECIFIC REASONS AS TO WHY IT’S A CRIME SCENE, BUT WE ASKED AND WE’RE STILL WAITING ON MORE ANSWERS, BUT WE KNOW IT IS FOR SURE A CRIME SCENE. AND IT CAN’T JUST WALK THROUGH CRIME SCENES LIKE THAT. AND SO WHAT WE DID HAVE A MOMENT AGO, LIVECOPTER3 CAPTURED WHAT APPEARED TO BE SOME SORT OF A FIRE VEHICLE THAT HAD PULLED UP TO THIS PARTICULAR AREA. AND THEN JUST MOMENTS AGO, WE SAW THE CHP OFFICER PULL UP AND QUESTION THIS PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL WHO IS STANDING BY CAN LIVECOPTER3 SHOW US WHERE THAT OTHER VEHICLE IS AT THIS POINT, WE’RE JUST CURIOUS IF THERE’S ANYBODY WITH THAT VEHICLE AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING THERE AT THE SCENE. AND LIKE I SAID, WHEN WE LAST SAW THEM, IT LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD TURNED AROUND. AND THEY WERE THEY WERE MOVING OUT OF THE SCENE. SO WE DON’T KNOW IF THAT WHITE VEHICLE WAS EVEN RELATED WITH THIS PERSON THAT WE’RE SEEING ON THE GROUND. WE HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY WERE RELATED WITH THEM OR IF THEY JUST HAPPENED TO GO BY AND SAW THIS, THIS PERSON THERE, AND THEY’RE THE ONES WHO ALERTED AUTHORITIES, OR IF THEY DROPPED THE PERSON OFF. SO YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF A LOT OF TALKINGS HAPPENING. YOU CAN SEE HAND GESTURES AND THAT SORT OF THING. BUT THAT PERSON DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THAT PERSON SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, BECAUSE CHP IS QUESTIONING THEM RIGHT NOW AND PROBABLY RUNNING THEIR DRIVER’S LICENSE OR WHATEVER IDENTIFICATION THEY HANDED THEM AT THIS TIME. YOU KNOW, THE THE IF BECAUSE IT IS A CRIME SCENE, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO BE THERE. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU DON’T WANT TO DAMAGE ANY EVIDENCE, EVEN THOUGH WE COULD CLEARLY SEE THEM FROM LIVECOPTER3 JUST TAKING PHOTOS. THEY’RE STILL WALKING ON THINGS. AND AND THAT DEFINITELY IS NOT WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO. THAT CAN CONTAMINATE THINGS. THIS PERSON COULD HAVE BEEN CONTAMINATING THEM. AND AGAIN, WE DON’T KNOW WHO THIS PERSON IS. IF THEY WERE AN OFFICIAL, I DON’T THINK THE CONVERSATION WOULD BE GOING ON. AS LONG AS IT’S GOING ON, YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF GESTURING HAPPENING FROM FROM THE PERSON THAT CHP IS TALKING TO. YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN OPEN FARMLAND ALL AROUND THERE, BUT WITH ALL THE BLOCKADES AND, YOU KNOW, OUR CREW HAS KEPT A DISTANCE. THERE HAS BEEN QUITE A BIT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT THERE BLOCKING AND PROTECTING THIS ENTIRE AREA. SO IF THIS PERSON IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE AREA, YOU GOT TO WONDER HOW THEY SNUCK PAST THOSE BLOCKADES TO GET CLOSE TO THIS EXPLOSION SITE. ABSOLUTELY. SO WE’LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS FROM LIVECOPTER3 AND AND TRYING TO GET THE MOST INFORMATION THAT WE CAN FOR YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE DO KNOW THAT THERE WERE TWO HOMES ON THE PROPERTY. WE WERE JUST SHOWING THEM TO YOU. WE KNOW THAT THEY’RE GONE. AND THERE’S BEEN A L
Footage from LiveCopter 3 showed the moment a man was detained and placed in custody on Wednesday at the site of the Esparto fireworks facility fire, which was closed off and considered a crime scene. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office told KCRA 3 that the man who was arrested had driven past a California Highway Patrol checkpoint in order to access the property. During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Cal Fire emphasized that the area was a crime scene. KCRA 3 reporter Michelle Bandur asked officials why it was considered a crime scene.”This is a very major incident,” said Jason Clay, a public information officer for Cal Fire. “We have to preserve the area to be able to conduct that investigation, as well as the safety for everybody involved, both responders and the general public.”The man was seen walking through the blackened property, stepping over rubble and debris and taking photos.He was approached by a CHP officer before additional Yolo County deputies responded and he was placed in the back of a sheriff’s office vehicle. The sheriff’s office said the man claimed to be a member of the media from the Bay Area, but could not verify that with deputies.The man, who has not been identified by officials, was arrested for unauthorized entry into a closed emergency area. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
ESPARTO, Calif. —Footage from LiveCopter 3 showed the moment a man was detained and placed in custody on Wednesday at the site of the Esparto fireworks facility fire, which was closed off and considered a crime scene.
The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office told KCRA 3 that the man who was arrested had driven past a California Highway Patrol checkpoint in order to access the property.
During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Cal Fire emphasized that the area was a crime scene. KCRA 3 reporter Michelle Bandur asked officials why it was considered a crime scene.
“This is a very major incident,” said Jason Clay, a public information officer for Cal Fire. “We have to preserve the area to be able to conduct that investigation, as well as the safety for everybody involved, both responders and the general public.”
The man was seen walking through the blackened property, stepping over rubble and debris and taking photos.
He was approached by a CHP officer before additional Yolo County deputies responded and he was placed in the back of a sheriff’s office vehicle.
The sheriff’s office said the man claimed to be a member of the media from the Bay Area, but could not verify that with deputies.
The man, who has not been identified by officials, was arrested for unauthorized entry into a closed emergency area.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
