A massive fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and shut down part of Highway 1 in Northern California early Friday.
The fire broke out Thursday afternoon at the Moss Landing Power Plant, about 77 miles south of San Francisco, California, sending towering flames and plumes of black smoke into the air. Approximately 1,500 people in Moss Landing and the nearby Elkhorn Slough area were ordered to evacuate, according to The Mercury News.
As of early Friday, the fire was contained within the facility and had not spread further, said Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli. Temporary evacuation shelters were established, though most evacuees sought refuge with friends or family.
Owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy, the Moss Landing Power Plant is home to tens of thousands of lithium batteries, critical for storing energy from renewable sources like solar power. However, lithium battery fires are notoriously challenging to extinguish.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it—this is a disaster,” said Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, speaking to KSBW-TV. Still, Church noted that the fire was unlikely to spread beyond the plant’s reinforced concrete structure.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has scheduled an emergency meeting Friday morning to discuss the incident.
This is not the first fire at the Moss Landing facility. Previous incidents in 2021 and 2022 were linked to a fire sprinkler system malfunction that caused some units to overheat, The Mercury News reported. The cause of the current fire remains unknown.
Vistra Energy said in a statement that all personnel were safely evacuated and that an investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished. “Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders,” said Vistra spokesperson Jenny Lyon.
The North Monterey County Unified School District announced the closure of all schools and offices on Friday due to the ongoing emergency.
