La Verne evacuations remain, while progress has been made in lithium-ion battery fire, officials say

Hundreds of residents in La Verne remain under mandatory evacuation orders and nearby schools are closed as officials continue to monitor lithium-ion batteries at the Metropolitan Water District after a fire erupted.

The La Verne Police Department said the fire broke out on Tuesday around 11:40 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they heard a small explosion in a battery storage unit on the northeast side of the facility.

In a Thursday afternoon update, La Verne Fire Department Fire Chief Brandon Coatney said positive steps were taken as temperatures in the two affected battery banks have stabilized. He said they will continue to work through the night.

Fire crews were working to bring temperatures down after the initial battery unit that exploded experienced a temperature spike to about 300 degrees, while the second unit reached about 112 degrees.

Coatney said in battery bank one, most components were consumed by fire, leaving melted remnants. He said this is of concern because significant energy is still stored in its melted components.   

Concerning battery bank two, mitigation teams successfully forced open closed doors to gain access to the internal battery system. Now, the goal is for experts to de-energize the batteries and render the second unit safe.

Officials said mitigating the incident could take several days.

"The batteries cannot be safely approached or dismantled until conditions allow," officials said. "Once the batteries are fully de-energized and no longer producing heat or hazardous vapors, they can be dismantled and transported to a hazardous-waste facility."

The Metropolitan Water District said that treatment services have not been impacted and the safety of the water supply has not been affected. The agency said it will continue working in coordination with local officials on the incident. 

Air quality monitoring

The South Coast Air Quality Management District and Los Angeles County Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials Division are monitoring air quality around the clock.

Current monitoring shows low-level air quality impacts surrounding the incident.

No hazardous air conditions have been detected at the property.

Evacuation orders and school closures

Mandatory evacuation orders, as well as warnings and advisories, remain in effect. On Thursday, Coatney said conditions are still hazardous. 

"We have not stopped the ability for these batteries to continue to generate heat, and they have a mind of their own a bit. There is a chain reaction between batteries to where one heats up, the next heats up, and then fire can actually occur, and that fire would generate smoke, which would generate toxic smoke in the air, which is the reason we have the evacuation orders in place," Coatney said.

As of Thursday, evacuation orders remain in place for:

• LVN-E010-A

Evacuation warnings for:

• LVN-E010-B
• LVN-E010-C

Advisories for:

• LVN-E009
• LVN-E011
• LVN-E012
• LVN-E1311

Officials have conducted door-to-door knocking to notify residents of the orders. Residents are encouraged to remain out of their homes.

The La Verne Police Department will not be enforcing overnight parking restrictions through Friday morning for potential residents sheltering at other locations across the city.

Pelota Park and Grace Miller Elementary School will remain closed.

Residents in the evacuation zone who need a place to stay should contact the police department's non-emergency line at (909) 596-1913.