The Del Norte County Sheriff's Office made two arrests Thursday in connection with the July 4th fireworks explosion on South Beach. | Courtesy of the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office

From the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office:

The Del Norte County Sheriff's Office has made two arrests following an ongoing investigation related to the explosion that occurred on July 4th, 2024.

On the night of the explosion the dispatch center was inundated with 911 calls reporting a large explosion on South Beach involving many victims, which included a 3 year old boy.

DNSO Deputies arrived on scene as well as several Crescent Fire units and EMS personnel from Del Norte Ambulance.

A unified command was established with Crescent Fire Chief Kevin Carey and Sheriff Garrett Scott. A total of 14 victims were located and transported to Sutter Coast Hospital. Many others were injured and chose not to be transported to the hospital, but were assisted with burns, cuts and fragments of debris from the blast.

The subjects responsible for the illegal fireworks that caused the explosion immediately fled the scene.
After all of the victims of the explosion were transported from the scene, DNSO investigators collected evidence and gathered witness statements as well as a multitude of pictures and video footage. The illegal fireworks were collected as evidence and ranged from store bought mortars to homemade style mortars in large PVC canisters. All the evidence collected filled an entire F-150 pickup truck bed.

Levi Mills and Meagan Warner were arrested Thursday

The Del Norte County Sheriff's Office worked closely with the Del Norte County District Attorney's office during this investigation.

On July 11th, 2024 at 1100 hours, a team of Del Norte County Sheriff's Deputies, DA Investigators and Cal Fire Law Enforcement served a search warrant at a residence in Crescent City. Evidence was discovered during the search that strongly supports the charges both subjects are currently facing.

Meagan Warner(32) and Levi Mills(33) were both arrested and are now lodged at the Del Norte County Jail.

Message from Sheriff Scott: Transparency is and remains a priority at the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office. I have remained somewhat silent on this matter in order to protect the integrity of this investigation and to avoid potential of any destruction of evidence that could take place. I pray our 3 year old victim as well as all of the victims in this incident can heal from this tragedy. The negligance shown by the suspects in this case is completely unacceptable. I commend Dispatch, EMS, Fire Personnel and Law Enforcement Officers that responded to this incident and I truly thank the many people who have reached out to support our staff and Law Enforcement for their efforts. Public support is so very important!

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