People residing near the area of the Moss Landing Power Plant in Central California, one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in Northern California, have been asked to evacuate after the facility caught on fire.
There’s an ongoing fire at the Vistra Power Plant Moss Landing. Heat signature can be seen in satellite imagery. https://t.co/9HOW56poM7 #CAwx pic.twitter.com/sH3vGbZcVR
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) January 17, 2025
According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the fire of the power plant isn’t related to the fires that are causing destruction in LA.
As reported by the CNN, the fire at the power plant started around 3 p.m., and evacuation order for over 1,700 citizens was issued at approximately 6:30 p.m. due to concerns over hazardous materials and potential chemical releases.
The power plant, that has been left to burn on its own, contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries.
“There’s no way to sugar coat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV.
Vistra Energy, the company that owned the power plant, finished the latest stage of construction on the energy storage facility in 2023.
Following the expansion, the power plant held a capacity of 750 megawatts and 3,000 megawatt-hours, enough to power around 562,000 homes for up to four hours.
The fire started in one of the plant’s lithium-ion batteries, and according to a spokesperson of Vista Energy, Jenny Lyon, the cause has not yet been determined. She added that an investigation will be launched 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,” Lyon said.
Following the fire, several roads were closed to ensure public safety, including both directions of Highway 1 at Salinas Road, as well as Dolan Road and Castroville Boulevard.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued Evacuation Orders for areas of Moss Landing South of the Elkhorn Slough, North of Molera Rd and Monterey Dunes Way, and West of Castroville Blvd and ElkHorn Rd. to the ocean for the following zones: MRY-B037, MRY-B047, MRY-B050,… pic.twitter.com/lGfInaFL1v
— Monterey Co Sheriff (@MCoSheriff) January 17, 2025
Monterey County Spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli said the fire’s severity and the air quality is being monitored by drones.
HAPPENING NOW 🇺🇸 Fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant in California 😒🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/l738NNxyMo
— Melissa 🇨🇦 (@MelissaLMRogers) January 17, 2025
The burning power plant is surrounded by sensitive ecosystems, including the Moss Landing Wildlife Area, Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve, and Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
As of now, the fire is still on and residents are urged to stay home with windows closed, and not to use the ventilation systems.
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