The fire at Moss Landing Power Plant has rekindled, just hours after fire officials told reporters that the fire was nearly extinguished. As of 2:30pm, a large column of black smoke could be seen from the site.
A hazardous materials team and agents from the Environmental Protection Agency earlier determined that no dangerous hydrogen fluoride gas was released in the blaze, but it is not yet clear whether that has changed after the new fire erupted.
Residents in North Monterey County and South Santa Cruz County have been on edge since the fire broke out, with officials warning everyone to stay inside with windows closed and air systems off.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, hydrogen fluoride gas—which can come from lithium-ion batteries when they burn—is hazardous to humans if inhaled, or if it gets on the skin. It can cause rashes, deep, slow-healing burns and even death.
As of 10am Friday North Monterey County Fire Chief Joel Mendoza said there “is a lot of guessing used” in determining the magnitude of the fire, and that several of the cameras in the safety system failed.
Supervisor responded to a command post in Castroville set up by North Monterey County Fire, the lead agency combating the blaze.
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church called the incident “a disaster.”
“This has got to end,” Church said at a press conference Friday morning. “Safety protocols were supposed to be in place and that is just not happening. This should have never happened. There needs to be a full investigation. This is really a Three Mile Island incident for this industry, and is a significant national issue. This is a wake-up-call for this industry.”
Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said that more advanced monitoring systems will soon be in place.
“We are dealing with a lot of unknowns with this lithium battery fire and we need to err on the side of caution,” she said.
Vistra Director of Community Affairs Brad Watson expressed gratitude that nobody was hurt in the blaze, and issued an apology for the impact the incident had on the community.
“Safety is our top priority,” he said. “Vistra has arranged for an outside consultant to respond.”
Watson said that all standards and regulations were in place and followed in both the design and construction of the battery project, and that the company is studying why fire suppression equipment failed to extinguish the fire.
The fire erupted inside a building at the Moss Landing Power Plant Thursday, forcing emergency crews to evacuate areas around Moss Landing and close the heavily traveled Highway 1 in both directions for hours. After burning through the night and into Friday, emergency officials declared it a local emergency.
Monterey County spokeswoman Maia Carroll said that as of 10:30pm Thursday about 40% of the 50,000 square-foot building containing batteries had burned and that all Vistra employees, law and fire personnel were safe and accounted for.
The fire was reported around 3pm as a loud alarm boomed its warning from the Vistra Energy plant. Shortly afterwards, a column of black smoke wafted into the sky alongside the pair of 500-foot concrete towers that were built in 1950.
Monterey County Officials issued evacuation orders for areas of Moss Landing South of the Elkhorn Slough, North of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and West of Castroville Blvd. and ElkHorn Road to the ocean.
The Castroville Recreation Center is being opened as a Temporary Evacuation place, 11261 Crane St. in Castroville.
As the fire developed and night fell, the orange glow could be seen for miles. Traffic clogged surface roads around the incident including downtown Castroville where northbound Hwy 1 traffic slogged through the city and aimed north on Hwy 156 toward Hwy 101.
The incident marks the fourth fire at the Vistra Energy plant.
One week after Vistra first installed a system of Tesla batteries at the plant in September 2022, a fire broke out and forced officials to close Highway 1 in both directions for around 12 hours and evacuate the area. Rain water coming in contact with battery connections was blamed for the cause.
“It is unknown how long this incident may last,” Carroll said Thursday night. “No active fire suppression is taking place, the batteries must burn themselves out. No water can be used. This is standard action for battery fires.”
On Thursday night Castroville Recreation Center was being transitioned to an overnight shelter managed by the American Red Cross. Around 1,214 people are in the evacuation zones and
7,676 acres were under evacuation.
Because of the type of fire, “air quality in the evacuation zones can be considered serious for people which is why they were asked to leave,” Carroll said.
If people who are not in the evacuation zones but have medical conditions or are concerned about smoke, they can stay indoors, close windows and use air purifiers.
The County is coordinating with the National Weather Service and Vistra Energy regarding weather which might impact movement of smoke from the fire.The cause of the fire is still unknown.
For information, visit More/Mas Info: alertmry.org
Todd Guild contributed to this report.
