Moss Landing battery plant fire reignites, but is under control, fire chief says

A reignition of the fire at the Vistra Corp. lithium-ion battery storage facility in Moss Landing that began Tuesday night was under control as of Thursday morning, per North Monterey County Fire Chief Joel Mendoza, who said that he has not seen flames from the facility since Wednesday morning.

Monterey County residents in the Moss Landing area – not far south of the Santa Cruz County line – received an alert at around 10 p.m. Tuesday urging them to close windows and doors overnight “out of an abundance of caution.” Light smoke was first spotted emanating from the facility around 6:30 p.m. the same day. There were no evacuation orders issued.

Late Wednesday morning, residents received another update that said the fire was under control, and that the Monterey Bay Area Resources District was checking air quality, which remained in the “good” range as of late Wednesday morning.

The fire that broke out Jan. 16 prompted the evacuation of about 1,500 Monterey County residents and shut down a portion of Highway 1 for three days. In the days and weeks following the blaze, researchers detected high levels of toxic heavy metals in the soil at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve, Santa Cruz County supervisors called for local soil and water testing, Central Coast lawmakers called for a transparent investigation of the incident, and Moss Landing residents filed a lawsuit. Santa Cruz County residents raised concerns as well, expressing skepticism over another battery facility proposed outside Watsonville.

Mendoza told Lookout on Thursday morning that the fire has remained under control, and that once the flames were no longer visible Wednesday morning, he observed only light smoke coming from the facility by Wednesday afternoon. He added that the fire came from an area that had already burned in January’s incident.

“The fire burned through [Tuesday] night, and by Wednesday morning there were only some parts smoldering,” Mendoza said. “Then it burned out throughout the day.” Lithium battery fires are notoriously difficult to put out, as water is insufficient and can make the situation worse by causing a dangerous reaction. Typically, fire crews have to let these kinds of fires burn out by themselves.

Mendoza said that the fire appears to have come from batteries buried beneath piles of rubble from the previous fire, which he said was always a possibility.

“We’ve been saying all along that batteries exposed to heat that didn’t burn can ignite,” he said. “We were hoping that it wouldn’t happen, but it did.”

Mendoza said he does not know what exactly caused the latest flare-up, but that the recent rains could have contributed to it. Combining water and lithium can result in an exothermic reaction, which means that it releases a large amount of heat and can end in an intense fire or explosion. 

Mendoza said that while the fire has calmed, Vistra crews and drones are monitoring the site continuously. The most recent drone flights late Wednesday night picked up residual heat from concrete and hot substances, but no smoke and flames. He said that Vistra and county agencies will keep watch throughout the day with thermal imaging and more drone flights.

Resident Tamara Derby said it’s frustrating and scary to hear that the fire keeps flaring up, and she is even debating whether to leave Moss Landing. Derby said she’s skeptical of county notifications saying the air quality hasn’t been affected by the recent reignition. 

“[The notification] said it was smoldering, but the air quality is good. How do they know that already? How have they tested that?” she said. Derby added that the notifications from the county have not been adequate since the recent flare-up and would prefer to get them more frequently. 

Derby said one of her friends, who lives on a boat and is pregnant, evacuated Wednesday due to the flare-up. The neighborhood Derby lives in, just a few miles away from the power plant, has a lot of retirees, she said, which brings up a lot of health concerns. 

The most frustrating part, Derby said, is that it seems like officials don’t seem to care enough about the people and the wildlife. 

Paul Scott, a longtime Moss Landing resident, said Vistra needs to take more safety precautions and hope the company figures out how to keep the batteries from catching fire. Scott and his wife evacuated from their home during the initial fire in January, and were away from their home for only one night, he said. 

Scott believes the battery plants are a problem because of how close they are to agriculture fields and the marine preserve, he said. “That’s the only thing I could worry about, are we getting food around here with the chemicals in it,” Scott said. 

It’s very concerning to see the fire reignite, said Jim Dismukes, who’s lived in the area for almost 30 years. Dismukes did not evacuate from his home in January because there wasn’t anywhere he, his wife — who is wheelchair-bound — and their pets could go. 

“Even if it’s not fully ignited, if there’s a lot of smoke coming out, I think you have to assume there’s some toxicity [there],” he said. 

Dismukes said it’s been difficult for local businesses in the wake of the January fire, and adds that people are more afraid to visit the area.

There’s been a lack of transparency and follow through following the fire from officials, said Andrew Hippert, owner of Moss Landing Boat Works, a boat repair company. Hippert, who lives in Hollister but has been working in Moss Landing for nine years, said the overall concern for safety has been watered down and it’s unfair for the community to go through that. 

There’s no follow-up on the toxicity level or soil samples, he said. “I know there’s little tidbits of it here and there, but there’s no transparency with the long-term effects,” Hippert said. 

Hippert said he thinks it’s necessary for county officials to have accountability and transparency for situations like this. “I know the businesses in Moss Landing have been out of work, so I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any compensation or recognition for that matter,” he said.

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