MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION-TV) – A fire broke out Thursday afternoon at the Vistra Battery Building at the Moss Landing Power Plant and grew into the night.
The last time a fire occurred at the Moss Landing Power Plant was on September 20, 2022 at the Tesla Energy Storage Facility.
Thick black smoke could be seen coming from the Vistra Energy side of the power plant around 3 p.m. As of 10 p.m., as of the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center, 40 percent of the building with batteries had burned.
Firefighters are on site to monitor the gerund and in the air with drones to see the extent of the damage. No fire suppression is performed because the batteries must burn themselves without the use of water.
Vistra Corp. responds to fire
The building and facilities were evacuated before the fire continued to spread. Vistra Corp. released a statement to KION:
“There is a fire in progress at our Moss Landing Power Plant site. Our top priority is the safety of the community and our staff, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders.
Earlier this afternoon, Vistra personnel called for assistance from the North Monterey County Fire District after a fire was detected at the 300 MW Phase I energy storage facility on the site of the Moss Landing power plant. All site personnel were safely evacuated.
The causes of the fire have not yet been determined, but an investigation will be opened once the fire is extinguished. ”
Vistra is monitoring air quality throughout the night with officials from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
State officials respond to fire
Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) responded to the fire in the following statement:
“The safety and well-being of our communities remains my number one priority. I am closely monitoring the Moss Landing fire and its effects on surrounding areas. I am in open communication with local and state agencies to ensure that our community and our first responders have the resources they need I am deeply concerned and have serious questions about the safety of this battery energy storage plant. I will seek transparency and accountability on why. this happened again in Moss Landing. I am exploring all options to prevent future battery energy storage from happening again on the Central Coast.”
U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta also released a statement on the fire:
“We are monitoring the fire at Moss Landing and are in contact with first responders and the compromised battery storage facility. We are asking residents to remain vigilant, follow instructions from emergency services and stay safe. Clean energy facilities have a responsibility to operate safely and to protect surrounding communities, I urge this battery facility to be transparent and cooperate with authorities to quickly remedy this emergency situation.
Highway 1 completely closed, road closures in effect near Moss Landing
CalTrans District 5 has ordered a complete closure of Highway 1 with no estimated reopening time. Northbound traffic is directed from the Highway 183 junction and southbound traffic is directed from Struve Road.
Monterey County Public Works also listed road closures in effect around the Moss Landing area, including:
- Dolan Road. at Castroville Boulevard.
- Elkhorn on Castroville Boulevard.
- Paradise on Walker Valley Rd.
- Elkhorn on Bayview Road.
- Elkhorn at Strawberry Rd.
- Elkhorn on Hidden Valley Road.
- Elkhorn Road. between Kirby Road. and Wauh Road.
- Elkhorn at the intersection of Hall Road. at the fire station
- Russo Road. on Dolan Road.
- Trafton Road. to Bluff Road.
Evacuation orders
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation orders for areas of Moss Landing south of Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Rd and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road to the ocean.
The following areas include MRY-B037, MRY-B047, MRY-B050, MRY-B051, MRY-B053, MRY-B058 and MRY-B060. 1,214 people living in evacuation zones were ordered to evacuate. These areas can be found at readymontereycounty.org/emergency.
The Castroville Recreation Center is open as a temporary evacuation point at 11261 Crane Street in Castroville.
Monterey and Santa Cruz counties ask residents to stay home
Santa Cruz County Public Health and Monterey County Health urged residents via an alert to stay indoors, close all windows and turn off their ventilation systems.
They also advise those looking for information to turn to social media for additional updates.
NMCUSD and Hartnell close schools Friday
The Hartnell College Castroville Education Center will be closed Friday, January 17 due to the fire, for the safety of students and staff.
The North Monterey County Unified School District has also made the decision to close all NMCUSD schools tomorrow, citing the health and safety of their students as their top priority.
This is a developing story.
