January 17, 2025, 5:58 a.m.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SETS EMERGENCY MEETING TO DEAL WITH MOSS LANDING FIRE
Last night’s disastrous fire at the Vistra battery storage facility at the Moss Landing power plant had pretty much burned itself out by 10:30 p.m., but the aftereffects will be felt for a long time, and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will hold an emergency meeting at 8:30 this morning at the Castroville public library, 11160 Speegle Street, Castroville, to start to deal with them.
Fire officials and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office will give a briefing about the fire, the county said.
The public portion will be held over Zoom before the board goes into a closed session. The link to the zoom meeting is https://montereycty.zoom.us/j/97932263506?pwd=ZLGNb9vyTCbscXRi9DbGkMAvknNuPh.1&from=addon
You can also access the meeting by using the cell phone number +16699006833,,97932263506# and the password US 882311, the county said.
While winds kept the smoke and fumes generated by the fire away from the Monterey Peninsula, it created a hazardous situation and brought evacuation orders in the immediate area, along with shelter in place warnings for the downwind region, which was mostly in Santa Cruz County. Highway 1 through the area remains closed.
The county issued a fact sheet about the fire at 10:30 p.m. To read it click here: https://carmelpinecone.com/MossLandinginfo011625.pdf
Assemblymember Dawn Addis has also issued a statement, which can be found here: https://carmelpinecone.com/Addis011625.pdf
Last night’s blaze was the third at a battery storage facility at the Moss Landing power plant site, which remains one of California’s largest for power generation from natural gas.
Moss Landing Fire Information 10:30 pm Update County of Monterey Emergency Operations Center
We will update information as it becomes available.
Fire
Fire at the Vistra Power Plant began about 3:00.
Units arrived to find a structure which contains batteries on fire.
At this point, it appears 40% of the building containing batteries has burned. For context: battery
buildings in this location can be approximately 50,000 square feet.
All Vistra employees, law and fire personnel are safe and accounted for.
It is unknown how long this incident may last.
Fire crews have a visual of the entire site with drones, doing surveillance, monitoring the fire to see
extent of the fire and intensity. Also, the atmosphere around the plant is being monitored.
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.
Evacuations
Evacuation orders for specific areas:
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued Evacuation Orders for areas of Moss Landing South of
the Elkhorn Slough, North of Molera Rd and Monterey Dunes Way, and West of Castroville Blvd and
ElkHorn Rd. to the ocean for the following zones: MRY-B037, MRY-B047, MRY-B050, MRY-B051,MRY-
B053, MRY-B058, MRY-B060.
Temporary Evacuation Point: Castroville Rec Center is being transitioned to an overnight shelter
managed by the American Red Cross
1214 people are in the evacuation zones.
7676 acres 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.
Health Concerns
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.Vistra will being doing air quality monitoring tonight. That information will be reviewed by public health
officials in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Road Closures:
County of Monterey Road Closures:
Dolan Rd @ Castroville Blvd.
Elkhorn @ Castroville Blvd.
Paradise @ Walker Valley Rd.
Elkhorn @ Bayview Rd.
Elkhorn @ Walker Valley Rd.
Elkhorn @ Strawberry Rd.
Elkhorn @ Hidden Valley Rd.
Elkhorn Rd between Kirby Rd and Wauh Rd.
Elkhorn at the intersection of Hall Rd @ the fire station.
Russo Rd @ Dolan Rd
Trafton Road to Bluff Rd
Highway 1:
Both directions of Hwy. 1 are closed due to the Moss Landing Power Plant. fire Travelers on northbound
Hwy. 1 are being directed off at Molera Rd. with southbound Hwy. 1 directed off at Struve Road.
Estimate for reopening is unknown. Traffic info at: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov
Schools
The County is working with the Office of Education to determine if any impacts to schools in the area.
Close that place down. Elon can move it to Texas or near the White House since that’s his home plate now. Hope all are safe. So sad the toxic chemicals are spilling into the air.
Fire-suppression foam is used on fires of this type, but apparently it is not available for this fire. Seems to me that it would be prudent to keep it on hand for one of the largest battery power-storage installations in the world.
Thank you for posting and sharing information .
Three fires in three years at this facility. Unacceptable.
Palo Colorado Canyon is filled with stinking smoke this morning.
New technology. Every new technology has some hiccups. So much less damage to the environment than a refinery fire/explosion or a 3 mile island or chernobyl nuclear meltdown. Abundance of caution by the authorities most welcome.
I like how Peter Ziegler responded … Yada, yada yada (provided no details) and then went on to say “and promised to share all “future” results with the public, not only about the air pollution, but why the disaster happened. You deserve all the information we have.” Ziegler said.
Then why can’t we have yesterdays information as well as the futures?
I just wanted to mention that the Vistra portion of the Moss Landing battery storage facility (the part that caught fire) is based upon LG Energy’s TR1300 battery system. This system is based upon an earlier generation of JH4 battery cells which use NMC battery chemistry (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt Oxide). NMC batteries are volatile and those from LG Energy, in particular, do not have a good safety/reliability reputation (see older GM Bolt’s and older Hyundai Ioniq and Kona’s which involved LG Energy NMC batteries). Most residential and grid scale batteries now use LFP (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate) batteries which are no where near as volatile as NMC batteries (they also cost far less and last twice as long, if not longer). As folks consider grid scale battery storage going forward, we really should recognize the distinction between LFP and NMC battery chemistries.
Any news on the impact the fire may have on the marine life and enviornment at Moss Landing?
Very good question. I will ask. I don’t necessarily expect a forthright answer, but I do have an in with the Supervisor for that district.
Thank you, Kate.
In Pebble Beach, my eyes are stinging and I smell a stench in the air inside with the windows closed, heat on. I assume this must be from the Moss Landing fire? Any news on the direction the smoke is blowing?