MOSS LANDING, Calif. – Hundreds of residents in Monterey County were ordered to evacuate, and a section of Highway 1 was closed after a fire erupted at a battery storage plant in Moss Landing.
What we know:
The fire at Moss Landing Power Plant, one of the world’s largest lithium battery storage facilities, started around 3 p.m. Thursday, sending plumes of black smoke into the air. About 1,200 people were ordered to evacuate the town and the Elkhorn Slough area.
Monterey County officials said the evacuation zone covers more than 7,600 acres.
This is the second fire at the plant since it opened five years ago.
The blaze was still burning early Friday with some containment, and it had not spread beyond the facility, according to Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli. Fire officials want the blaze to burn out on its own.
Vistra Energy
What they’re saying:
The Moss Landing Power Plant is owned by Texas-based company Vistra Energy and contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries. The batteries are important for storing electricity from such renewable energy sources as solar energy, but if they go up in flames the blazes can be extremely difficult to put out.
What we don’t know:
It was unclear what caused this latest fire. Vistra said in a statement that after it was detected, everyone at the site was evacuated safely. An investigation will begin once the fire is out.
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Residents in several communities in Monterey County were ordered to evacuate after an explosion at the Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday.
“Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders,” Jenny Lyon, a spokesperson for Vistra, said in a statement.
A ‘disaster’
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV the fire was a “disaster.”
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” he said. He did not expect the fire to spread beyond the concrete building it was enclosed in.
The county Board of Supervisors planned an emergency meeting Friday morning to provide an update on the fire along with fire and sheriff’s officials. KTVU will stream the public portion of the session at 8:30 a.m.
The North Monterey County Unified School District announced that all schools and offices would be closed Friday due to the fire.
Previous fires
Dig deeper:
There were fires at the Vistra plant in 2021 and 2022 caused by a fire sprinkler system malfunction that resulted in some units overheating. The blaze in 2022 was at a PG&E substation in the same area where Tesla charges its batteries.
“There have been fires in the past…nothing to this extent,” Church said.
The fire that broke out Thursday occurred at the Moss Landing Power Plant, not the PG&E Tesla Megapack facility.
The Source: This story was reported based on information from Monterey County officials and a spokesperson for Vistra Energy. The Associated Press also contributed to the report.
