A massive blaze erupted at one of the world’s largest lithium battery storage facilities in wildfire-ravaged California, forcing some 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes as toxic smoke filled the air.
The fire at Vistra Corp’s Moss Landing plant along Monterey Bay — south of Santa Cruz and far from the Los Angeles wildfires — was first reported around 3 p.m. Thursday and exploded out of control into the night.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glen Church told KSBW-TV. “This is extremely disconcerting.”
Monterey County spokesman Nicholas Pasculli warned locals “It’s imperative” to “heed the evacuation order and take the direction of law enforcement and fire personnel,” according to The Mercury News.
“This is a situation where we take the idea of protecting life and property very seriously. We implore people to heed the evacuation order and to go to a safe location,” he added.
Officials ordered the evacuation of about 1,500 people from areas of Moss Landing south of Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road to the sea.
Residents in neighboring areas were urged to shut their windows and stay indoors and several local schools announced they would be closed on Friday.
“It’s a major incident,” Pasculli said. “All the resources in the county and our neighboring jurisdictions have been deployed to assist with this incident.”
No injuries have been reported and local officials are expected to provide an update Friday morning.
The fire was “contained” within a concrete structure that had partially collapsed, Church said.
Church said responders don’t anticipate the blaze “extending outward and getting beyond where it’s in.”
“There are a lot of batteries in there, and it’s burning pretty much inside that facility,” he said.
The facility is owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy and is one of the largest storage plants in the world, holding tens of thousands of notoriously flammable lithium batteries, according to The Mercury News.
Lithium battery fires can emit toxic gases that can cause respiratory problems and skin burns and are difficult to extinguish.
The large plant, which stores some 750 megawatts, is part of California’s ongoing efforts to go green and supply electricity from renewable sources, the paper reported.
Vistra sells the electricity stored there to the Pacific Gas and Electric utility company. PG&E also operates a separate 182-megawatt battery storage plant on site that has 256 Tesla “Megapack” battery packs — but that did not appear to be impacted by the fire.
A megawatt is enough electricity to run 750 homes, according to The Mercury News.
A Vistra spokesperson said all its personnel were evacuated safely.
“The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but an investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished,” the company told KSBW-TV.
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