PAUL ROGERS
MOSS LANDING — Flames continued to spew early Friday morning in the community of Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area in northern Monterey County after a major fire at a battery storage plant that brought evacuations.
The fire closed Highway 1 and raged out of control Thursday night, sending up huge flames and clouds of hazardous black smoke. It was reported around 3 p.m. at the plant, located on Highway 1, Monterey County spokesman Nicholas Pasculli said.
On Friday morning, the flames were a bit smaller, according to news reports.
Fire crews were not engaging with the fire but were waiting it to burn out on its own, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
At 11 p.m. Thursday, the county’s emergency alert system advised residents to stay indoors, keep their windows and doors closed, turn off their ventilation systems and limit outdoor exposure. There were no updates early Friday.
Evacuations of about 1,500 people were ordered for areas of Moss Landing south of Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road to the ocean remained in place, Pasculli said.
[…]
“It’s a major incident,” he said. “All the resources in the county and our neighboring jurisdictions have been deployed to assist with this incident.”
The facility, owned by Vistra Energy, a Texas company, is one of the largest battery storage plants in the world. It holds tens of thousands of lithium batteries, which are used to store electricity from solar power and other sources generated during the day for use at night. Such battery storage plants are a key part of California’s efforts to shift most of its electricity generation to renewable sources.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glen Church told KSBW-TV. “This is extremely disconcerting.”
Continue reading: Mercury News
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RELATED
Sage Hana reports on a battery plant fire at Moss Landing, Northern California -the largest in the world -evacuation order in effect – 75% up In toxic smoke
PETER HALLIGAN
“A fire was confirmed at the Vistra Power Plant in Moss Landing on Thursday, forcing evacuations and closing roads in the area. The Vistra battery plant in Moss Landing is the largest in the world.
The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. The building was evacuated when the fire started. All Vistra employees, law and fire personnel are safe, per the County of Monterey.
Firefighters are not engaging the fire and are waiting for it to burn out on its own. It is unknown how long the fire will last.
KSBW’s Joyce Kim said that as of early Friday morning, the flames have died down considerably, compared to Thursday afternoon, but there is still smoke and the fire is still burning in the area.
County officials informed the public on Friday morning that a local emergency was declared. This was announced at an emergency meeting Friday.
The plume of smoke coming from the fire is considered toxic but has gone up high enough that it is currently not a concern for residents, per officials at the meeting.
A total of 11 families, 37 people, stayed at the emergency shelter overnight.
Emergency responders are staged in the area.
County officials said on Friday morning that 75% of the battery plant had burned.
Fire officials and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. to give an update.”
Onwards!
Source: Peter Halligan
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