A massive fire broke out at a lithium-ion battery storage facility in Moss Landing, prompting evacuation orders and warnings across neighboring areas.
The fire, burning at Vistra Energy calls the world’s largest energy storage facility, sent plumes of toxic smoke into the air, leading officials to urge residents of nearby Santa Cruz County to remain indoors, KCRA reports.
Nearly 1,200 residents were evacuated, and both directions of Highway 1 near Moss Landing was shut down. The fire broke out at about 3 p.m. Firefighters are taking a defensive posture in battling the battey fire. The batteries are contained with a concrete containment structure and fire is not expected to extend beyond the building.
This incident isn’t the first at the Moss Landing facility, which is a natural gas power plant and lithium-ion battery storage facility. In 2021, overheating battery modules caused the facility to go offline, and similar safety incidents occurred in February and September 2022.