Seven people were missing after a fireworks warehouse in Esparto, California, caught fire and exploded Tuesday. 

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Esparto Fire Protection District and Yolo County Office of Emergency Services said Wednesday that the fire and explosion happened at 6:02 p.m. Tuesday local time. A specific cause of the fire was not mentioned.

The responding agencies did not identify any of the seven missing people, nor did they confirm whether the missing people were working at the warehouse at the time of the blast. Locals compared the blast’s power to earthquakes.

“I woke up out of a dead sleep and I thought it was an earthquake. I felt the whole apartment shake, the windows rattle. … When I was outside looking at the smoke and everything, I felt another explosion that shook everything — the cement, the ground, the stairways, everything,” nearby resident Julian Grant told San Francisco’s KTVU-TV.

First responders and CAL FIRE investigators are working with the owner of the Esparto warehouse to look for the missing people. Officials said that CAL FIRE will determine whether the facility complied with its licensing requirements.

“This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements,” officials said Wednesday.

The remains of the warehouse and surrounding 78 acres were still in flames with none of the fire contained as mid-day Wednesday, CAL FIRE said in an incident update. An evacuation order remained in effect.

The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said the fire will take time to cool and that, even after it’s put out, evacuees and others will still have to stay away until explosive experts determine the area is all clear.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.