A shelter-in-place order for residents near the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County was lifted Friday afternoon after a blaze ignited in more than 1,000 batteries left from a larger fire in 2025.
The county issued the safety order for people within a third of a mile of the Vistra Energy battery storage facility at 7301 state Highway 1 after the fire was reported about 6:15 a.m.
The batteries remained after a fire on Jan. 16, 2025, in part of Vistra’s site where about 100,000 lithium-ion battery modules were held, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. About 55% of the batteries were damaged in the fire.
About 1,100 to 1,200 batteries remained in the vicinity of Friday’s fire, county spokesman Nicholas M. Pasculli said. They were among 5,000 batteries still on site after 39,000 were removed and recycled, he said.
Jess Cortez, fire chief with the North County Fire Protection District, said the batteries involved in Friday’s fire were inaccessible after the 2025 fire because they were along a wall at risk of collapse.
After they caught fire Friday, Cortez said, the “best tactic is to let these batteries burn themselves out.”
The batteries were still energized but were idle and the unit was disconnected from the electric grid after the 2025 fire, according to Ron George, manager of the Vistra plant. He acknowledged there was a possibility of future flareups until all batteries are removed from the site.
In addition to the shelter-in-place order, authorities had instructed students and staff at some schools in the area to stay inside Friday morning. They were later allowed to go outdoors. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Supervisor vents frustration
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, who represents the Moss Landing area, has led multiple community meetings about the 2025 fire and resulting investigation and said he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated” at having to deal with another fire at the same site.
Church said the fire underscored how volatile the battery storage systems can be and said it was “troublesome for the community when this continues to come up.”
The EPA and the Monterey Bay Air Resources District have been monitoring sensors around the facility and said they did not show readings out of the ordinary Friday. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said light winds and a marine layer kept smoke from the fire from spreading very far.
The cause of the 2025 fire has not been released, and authorities did not say what might have sparked Friday’s new blaze. The EPA earlier this month said it was starting the final phase of battery cleanup and demolition of the battery storage building and was going to “take every precaution to mitigate the risk of a fire incident on-site.”
Prior to Friday’s fire, the EPA had estimated that the battery removal and building demolition process would be complete by mid-2027.
This story was updated at 5:53 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18.