CLEANUP WORK CONTINUES at the Vistra Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage System facility nearly a year after a major fire forced the temporary evacuation of over a thousand residents. With a large lawsuit pending, many residents in the area are still looking for accountability, oversight and tighter safeguards against another fire.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors received an update Tuesday from the county’s director of emergency management, Kelsey Scanlon, about the fire that erupted on Jan. 16, 2025.
About 12,000 battery modules have now been de-energized and removed from the Moss Landing 300 building for recycling — roughly one-third of the 35,772 batteries stored at the site, Scanlon said. No flare-ups have occurred during battery removal work so far.
As winter storms continue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing water containment and testing to ensure rainwater and runoff remain onsite, Scanlon said. Batteries are protected from moisture under tents to reduce the risk of re-ignition, and captured water is tested for contamination before disposal.
The building that burned for several days is coming down completely.
Preparing for second phase of cleanup
“The first phase of building stabilization and partial demolition work at the Moss Landing 300 building wrapped up just before the holidays,” Scanlon said.
Phase two, which will address the severely burned sections of the building and demolish the structure down to its concrete foundation, is expected to begin in mid-2026. First, crews must deal with the proper offsite disposal of burned and damaged batteries, she said.
“Once these areas of the building are safe to access, burn debris from the massive 300 structure will be sampled for waste characterization and offsite disposal,” Scanlon said. “Results will be made available to the public.”
The cleanup proceeds as litigation continues. The law firm Singleton Schreiber represents roughly 1,000 plaintiffs who allege Vistra Energy and other companies involved in the facility failed to implement adequate fire safety measures. The lawsuit seeks compensation for evacuation-related expenses, property damage, emotional distress and lost income.
“One year later, many residents are still grappling with unanswered questions about environmental impacts, accountability, and whether sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent another catastrophic incident,” said Singleton Schreiber attorney Knut Johnson in a statement Tuesday.
In the days immediately following the fire, dozens of residents reported experiencing a metallic taste, trouble breathing, painful sores, bloody noses, extreme fatigue and persistent headaches. Some residents with preexisting conditions, such as asthma or COPD, said their conditions had worsened.
At the time, the Monterey Bay Air Resources District said there was no concentration of toxins above normal air quality conditions.
Soil samples confirm toxic metals widespread
Immediately after the fire, scientists from the nearby San Jose State University Moss Landing Marine Laboratories rushed to collect soil and water samples across the wetlands of Elkhorn Slough, which sits adjacent to the battery facility.
Their findings, published in November by the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, confirmed that a widespread layer of toxic metals, including nickel, manganese and cobalt, had settled across wetlands within about a 2-mile radius. According to SJSU, the study provides the first real-world evidence of metal fallout from a grid-scale battery fire.
The lab’s field surveys were conducted within a radius of approximately 2 miles from the power plant. The metals were confined to a shallow surface layer, and surface concentrations declined rapidly following precipitation and tidal inundation.
During public comment Tuesday, five residents voiced skepticism that the tests on the area’s air, ground and water had shown conditions to be safe.
“We now know that apparently the EPA lied to us, not doing proper scientific protocols for soil sampling and engaging in soil sampling methods that were guaranteed to find no accurate results,” said caller Nina Beatty, who questioned the independence of environmental testing and federal oversight. “People are still suffering from all these impacts without any recourse.”
Supervisor Glenn Church emphasized that the EPA, not the county, has primary authority over the cleanup, with local officials monitoring progress and relaying updates to the public.
All available data is on the County of Monterey’s Emergency, Readiness, Response, and Recovery website.