Fire at Moss Landing lithium battery center continues to burn
Fire at Moss Landing lithium battery center continues to burn 01:57
Authorities in Monterey County, California raised all evacuations Friday night, one day after a fire broke out at one of the world's biggest lithium battery storage centers.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office made the statement soon after 6 p.m. regional time. Health authorities still encouraged citizens near the Moss Landing Vistra Power Plant, situated about 90 miles south of San Francisco, to restrict outside direct exposure and to keep windows and doors closed till additional notification.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office has actually raised all Evacuation Orders for the Moss Landing Vistra Power Plant Fire, efficient right away. USEPA carried out cooperative quality tracking with ecological companies and information verifies no risk to human health. Agencies continue to … pic.twitter.com/yDNhOl0pw1
— Monterey Co Sheriff (@MCoSheriff) January 18, 2025
Friday night's statement comes hours after the fire, which started early Thursday night, flared once again. The fire closed a part of seaside Highway 1 that stays closed down to traffic as the fire continues to burn.
Moss Landing lithium battery center fire flares Friday afternoon. CBS News Bay Area
Monterey County authorities held a 2nd interview Friday afternoon after the most recent flare-up at around 1:45 p.m. produced another round of flames and black smoke shooting into the sky.
Assemblymember Dawn Addis and Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, who spoke at the earlier interview, attended to the media after the flare-up and voicing security issues for their constituents.
“There's been 3 events here. There's been the PG&E occurrence. It's actually time to stop it and breathe and make certain that we can guarantee the general public they're safe,” stated Addis. “This occurrence does feel and look extremely various. It's a various setup, the fire is various.”
By around 3 p.m., the flames had when again decreased and the black smoke being produced by the fire turned white.
On Friday afternoon, CBS News Bay Area got a declaration from the Environmental Protection Agency concerning the Moss Landing center fire.
“Last night, the Monterey Fire Department asked for EPA technical help to offer boundary air tracking at the Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant in Moss Landing, Monterey County. EPA and specialists were set in motion and gotten here on scene. Extra EPA workers, consisting of 4 air tracking experts, and devices are presently en path. The fire is continuous, and EPA has actually signed up with Unified Command. At this time, Unified Command is led by the City of Monterey's Fire Department.
Evacuation and security choices are being made by the Incident Command. EPA is supporting the regional authorities by collecting air tracking information to assist the fire Incident Command and regional public health authorities those choices. Please connect to the regional fire department to find out more.”
The fire began at around 3 p.m.
