Hundreds ordered to evacuate as fire breaks out at massive California battery storage plant

MOSS LANDING, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate and part of Interstate 1 in Northern California was closed when a major fire broke out Thursday afternoon in one of the largest battery storage factories in the world.

As the fire caused immense flames and black smoke and showed no signs of abating Thursday evening, approximately 1,500 people were ordered to leave Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area. Mercury news reported.

The Moss Landing Power Plant, located about 75 miles (124 kilometers) south of San Francisco, is owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy and contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries. Batteries are important for storing electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar power, but if they ignite, fires can be extremely difficult to put out.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. It’s a disaster, that’s what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said. KSBW-TV. But he added that he did not expect the fire to spread beyond the concrete building in which it was confined.

There have been fires at the Vistra plant in 2021 and 2022 that were caused by a sprinkler system malfunction that caused some units to overheat, according to The Mercury News.

It is not clear what caused this latest fire. Vistra said in a statement that after its detection, everyone at the site was safely evacuated. Once the fire is extinguished, an investigation will be opened.

“Our top priority is the safety of the community and our staff, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders,” Vistra spokesperson Jenny Lyon said in a statement.

The North Monterey County Unified School District announced that all schools and offices would be closed Friday due to the fire.