Fire reignites at Moss Landing lithium battery storage facility; residents told to close windows
Monterey County residents near Moss Landing were told late Tuesday to close their windows and doors overnight after a fire broke out at the Vistra Energy lithium-ion battery storage facility near the Moss Landing Harbor.
The fire was emitting "light smoke" according to a press release from county spokesperson Maia Carroll that said first responders and the North County Fire Protection District were in a unified command at the facility in a message sent at 10:03 p.m.
The same facility, off state Highway 1 and Dolan Road, was the site of a massive fire in January, prompting evacuations because of unknown hazards posed by the smoke.
An earlier message sent via the county's alert system at 8:37 p.m. said the fire Tuesday had been detected at 6:30 p.m., coming from the burned-out area from the previous fire on Jan. 16. The message said the fire did not appear to be burning undamaged batteries still at the site that had not burned during that fire.
The Jan. 16 fire grew out of control when the facility's internal fire suppression system failed.
There are two separate facilities at the site, which was once a former Pacific Gas & Electric power plant. One is owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy, while the other is owned by PG&E.
The county said the unified command was monitoring the situation for air particulate matter and metals and that updates would be forthcoming.
Earlier this month, Moss Landing residents filed a lawsuit against both Vistra and PG&E over the January fire, The suit accuses Vistra of failing to take safety measures and complying with updated safety standards while claiming PG&E is responsible for the design of the facility.
