According to the County of Monterey, the North County Fire Department is currently responding to a fire at Moss Landing Power Plant. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued Evacuation Orders for areas of Moss Landing South of the Elkhorn Slough, North of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and West of Castroville Boulevard and ElkHorn Road to the ocean. The Castroville Recreation Center is being opened as a Temporary Evacuation Point. 11261 Crane St, Castroville. The fire department is also urging nearby residents to close windows and doors and shut off air systems until further notice. Residents are also requested to stay out of the area to allow for access of emergency vehicles. Several roads in the area have been closed, including Dolan Road and Castroville Boulevard, Highway 1 at Salinas Road and Highway 1 at Merritt Street. For more information visit: https://www.readymontereycounty.org/emergency

Editor’s note: In 2021 the Herald did a deep dive into what had caused two previous ‘smokey’ incidents at the plant and the challenges of battery storage plants. You can read that story here.

Evacuation areas and road closures around the fire at Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday night. (County of Monterey)

Originally Published: January 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM PST