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https://abc7news.com/post/fire-moss-landing-power-plant-monterey-county- forces-evacuations-road-closures/15809742/

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A fire at one of the world's largest
lithium battery plants forced evacuations of hundreds of residents
Thursday night.

On Friday, officials monitored the potentially hazardous smoke and lifted
all evacuation orders for residents. Monterey County health officials are
still advising residents to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed,
limit outdoor exposure, and turn off ventilation systems.

After the fourth fire here since 2019, the community is searching for
answers.

MORE: Spike in lithium-ion battery fires in San Francisco in recent years: Here's what to know

"This can best be described as a worst case scenario of a disaster that's happened here," Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said. "Nobody
could have predicted anything on this line. This is really much more than
just a fire, it's really a wake-up call for this industry. There must be accountability for this and there will be accountability."

Tempers ran about as hot as the fire at the coastal lithium battery plant.

Flames could be seen from miles away, raging some 30 feet high or more
into the air.

A water-based suppression system at the Vistra Energy plant failed to
contain the fire at the start.

Why that was, as well as the initial cause, remain under investigation.

"Our company takes very seriously what happened last night," Vistra Energy Senior Director of Community Affairs Brad Watson said. "And we are hurting today because we know its impacted and disrupted the people who live
around our site, our neighbors, our friends, our businesses, and for that
we are sincerely sorry."

Initial air quality results from Vistra and the county's environmental
health department suggested that no hazardous gases were released into surrounding communities, but more sophisticated monitoring equipment was
on the way from the state and the U.S. Enivronmental Protection Agency
that will give officials more information before considering lifting the evacuations, Mendoza and Sheriff Tina Nieto said.

MORE: Lithium battery recycling plant explodes in Missouri; no injuries reported | VIDEO

The Inn at Moss Landing was under the evacuation order - the owner told us
he was busy making cancellation calls and re-bookings. He said this is a popular time for people who love to visit their coastal community.

Linda Pacheco, her three children and their dogs, were also few of the
1,200 residents forced to evacuate.

"My 16-year-old has asthma, that's what came up in my head right away
because of the smell," Pacheco said. "As soon as we came out the door, we smelled that strong air and that chemicals. I started getting dizzy."

Susan Fine and her cat Puffy were glad to head home from the evacuation
center in Castroville.

This is the fourth fire Pacheco has lived through at this location since
2019 - the third at a Vistra Energy-operated plant, which is adjacent to another battery storage facility on the same property that is operated by
PG&E.

In September 2021, smoke was detected at the Vistra facility, but its fire suppression system stopped the problem, according to the county staff
report to the Board of Supervisors in December 2022.

In February 2022, the facility safety system was again activated for a
heating event that was stopped from erupting further.

In September 2022, a fire broke out at the PG&E facility, resulting in a hazardous mateirals response from the county and a shelter in place order
for nearby residents.

Battery energy storage systems, referred to by the acronym BESS, store
energy from solar, electric, wind, and other energy systems for later use.

When lithium-ion batteries catch fire, they generate extreme heat and can release toxic gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen,
methane, ethane and other hydrocarbons, according to a 2022 county staff report. The same report noted the dangers of runoff from putting out such fires. The facility is at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough, an environmentally sensitive wetland.

Supervisor Church says he was assured that safety protocols would never
allow this happen when the plant was constructed.

After this latest fire, he says failure can no longer be an option.

"What we have right now with protocols, safety and standards, which are
state of the art I'm sure, but they failed," Church said. "We have to make sure, going ahead here, that things are going to be safe."))

Road closures remained in place here along Highway 1 Friday afternoon.

Evacuation orders will stand until officials are sure it's safe for
residents to return home.

There was hope at the press conference that that could happen Friday
night, but it is unclear.


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