A massive fire broke out at a California power plant early Friday morning, threatening one of the world's largest battery energy storage facilities.
The fire started several hours ago in a building containing lithium-ion batteries, Monterey County Sheriff's Office officials said. said BBC.
The Moss Landing Power Plant, operated by Vistra, was evacuated, as were people in the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.
A Monterey sheriff's spokesperson said authorities were not actively fighting the fire and were following the advice of fire experts and leaving the building and battery burning.
Hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate and sections of Highway 1 in Northern California were closed.
The Moss Landing power plant, located about 124 miles south of San Francisco and owned by Texas-based company Vistra Energy, is equipped with tens of thousands of lithium batteries, the company said. report.
Batteries are important for storing power from renewable energy sources such as solar energy, but if a battery catches fire, it's very difficult to put out the flames.
“There's no way to sugar coat it. This is a disaster and that's the reality,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV. But he said he did not expect the fire to spread beyond the surrounding concrete building.
The North Monterey County Unified School District announced it would close all schools and offices Friday due to the fire.
Officials said the fire was unrelated to the current spate of wildfires in Los Angeles and other parts of the state.
