Monterey County unanimously approves state of emergency after Moss Landing fire

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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Monterey Co. approves state of emergency after Moss Landing fire
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a a local state of emergency to address the fire at Moss Landing battery plant.

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. -- In a special meeting on Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to proclaim a local state of emergency to address the various concerns surrounding the Vistra Energy battery power storage facility fire in Moss Landing that began last week.

Lithium-ion batteries at the facility caught fire Thursday. Due to potential hazardous fumes from the fire, county health officials advised residents to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, limit outdoor exposure and turn off ventilation systems. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

The emergency resolution authorizes county departments to ask for assistance from the state and federal government to mitigate the effects of the fire on the area.

Supervisors heard several public comments from people describing a metallic taste in their mouth and finding an oily film on their cars. They were also concerned about not being properly informed about the scope and scale of present and future dangers.

District 4 Supervisor Wendy Root Askew asked the public to get their symptoms documented and reported to the county health department so they can have that data available in case future action is needed.

RELATED: Flames reignite at Monterey Co. battery storage facility as officials monitor toxic smoke

The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility has a total capacity of 750 megawatts. According to a Vistra press release announcing its completion in August 2023, it was at the time the largest of its kind in the world. It is made up of 122 individual containers that together house more than 110,000 battery modules. The facility was permitted through the county, according to records at the California Energy Commission.

In the wake of the fire, evacuation orders for about 1,200 people were lifted Friday evening. Nearby state Highway 1 remained closed in both directions at the plant until Sunday evening.

PG&E also has its own battery storage facility at the site that is still online.

District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church said he wants the county to send a letter to the state requesting that the Vistra facility and a neighboring PG&E facility stay offline until they are found in compliance with Senate Bill 38, a state law that requires battery storage facility owners and operators to create emergency response action plans in concert with local agencies.

SB 38 was authored by state Sen. John Laird, a Democrat whose Central Coast district includes Moss Landing. The Senate's analysis of the bill before it was approved and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 specifically mentioned three recent fires in Moss Landing, two involving Vistra and one involving the PG&E facility, which contains Tesla battery megapacks.

MORE: Monterey Co. power plant still smoking, officials say air quality not a risk to residents

County officials did not specify how the two sites might be out of compliance with the state law.

Supervisor Church plans to use the emergency to study the case and determine whether the facility was out of compliance.

Church also called for the formation of an ad hoc committee to collaborate with other county and state officials to determine best actions moving forward. He said it was unclear as to whether the county has the power to close the facility.

About an hour after the Tuesday meeting, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has concluded supplemental air monitoring in the vicinity around Moss Landing, and the results for hydrogen fluoride and particulate matter showed no risk to public health throughout the fire response.

Kelsey Scanlon of the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management said there were approximately 100 mobile air monitoring locations provided by the company CTEH, the independent contractor hired by Vistra throughout the community to detect seven different air elements. She said those results were confirmed by the EPA utilizing nine stationary monitoring units.

The community worry surrounded hydrogen fluoride gas, which even at low levels can irritate the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breathing in hydrogen fluoride at high levels or in combination with skin contact can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or from fluid buildup in the lungs.

Richard Stedman of the Monterey Bay Air Resources District said the district has data from over 30 monitors and sensors throughout their three-county jurisdiction. He said that the air district is willing to work with Vistra on perhaps establishing a more secure, tighter net monitoring system around the facility for particulate matter.

"It's important also to recognize that we don't directly regulate Vistra, and that's because they have no emissions," he said. "This plant does not emit, on a routine basis, emissions to the environment."

As for the fire, it has been slowly smoldering down since the weekend. North County Fire Protection District Chief Joel Mendoza said at Tuesday's meeting that only small pockets of heat are still being observed at the site, using drones and infrared thermal imaging, and the unburned portion of the building appears to be stable.

Mendoza said about 80% of the structure and its batteries were destroyed in the fire.

Monterey County has set up a site with current emergency information regarding the Moss Landing plant fire that people can visit at alertmry.org/MossLandingFire.

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