A massive blaze at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage facilities in wildfire-ravaged California has forced about 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes as toxic smoke fills the air. Ta.
The fire at Vistra's Moss Landing plant, south of Santa Cruz and along Monterey Bay, 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 sugar coat it. This is a disaster, that's what it is,” said Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church. told KSBW-TV. “This is very disconcerting.”
Monterey County Public Information Officer Nicholas Pasculi warned local residents that “it is imperative that you heed evacuation orders and follow the instructions of law enforcement and fire personnel.” According to Mercury News.
“This is a situation where we take the idea of protecting life and property very seriously. We appeal to people to heed evacuation orders and go to safe places,” he added.
Officials ordered about 1,500 people evacuated to sea from areas south of Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, north of Morera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road.
Residents in nearby areas were asked to close their windows and stay indoors, and several local schools announced they would be closed on Friday.
“This is a serious incident,” Pasculli said. “All resources within the county and adjacent jurisdictions were committed to assisting with this case.”
No injuries were reported and local authorities are expected to provide an update on Friday morning.
Church said the fire was “contained” inside the partially collapsed concrete structure.
Church said responders do not expect the fire to “spread outward and beyond the interior.”
“There's a lot of batteries there, and there's a lot of burning inside that facility,” he said.
The facility is owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy and is one of the world's largest storage plants containing tens of thousands of notoriously flammable lithium batteries, according to the Mercury News.
Lithium battery fires release toxic gases, can cause respiratory illnesses and skin burns, and are difficult to extinguish.
The large power plant will store about 750 megawatts of electricity and is part of California's continued efforts to go green and source electricity from renewable sources, the paper said.
Vistra sells the electricity it stores to Pacific Gas and Power Company. PG&E also operates a separate 182-megawatt battery storage plant with 256 Tesla “Megapack” battery packs on the property, which did not appear to be affected by the fire.
According to the Mercury News, the megawatts are enough to power 750 homes.
A Vistra spokesperson said all employees were safely evacuated.
“The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but we will begin an investigation once the fire is extinguished,” the company told KSBW-TV.
