The effects on the environment are being questioned as the lithium battery storage plant fire that forced evacuations in Moss Landing last week rages on days later.
About 90 miles south of San Francisco, the Moss Landing Vistra Power Plant caught fire last Thursday afternoon. The fire spread quickly in the early evening, forcing 1,200 residents of Monterey County to evacuate, and closing a portion of Highway 1 in both directions.
Officials are letting the burning lithium batteries burn themselves out because they are worried about the possibly harmful runoff that could result from fire workers turning on hoses.
During a news conference, officials stated that the fire was almost extinguished as of late Friday morning, but it saw a huge flare-up for a few hours that afternoon before subsiding once more.
In reference to the 1979 partial meltdown at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear accident in American history, Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church referred to the occurrence as a “Three-Mile Island event” for the industry during the press conference. Systems to store energy from electric, solar, wind, and other energy systems are developed by the battery energy storage systems industry, or BESS for short.
“I believe the best way to characterize this is as the worst-case scenario of a calamity that has occurred here. “On this line, nobody really made any predictions,” Church said. “This is a wake-up call for this sector, and it’s much more than simply a fire. Additionally, safe battery systems must be in place if we are to advance with renewable energy.
According to Church, his constituents have asked him a lot of questions about how and why the disaster occurred as well as how to avoid a repeat of it. Church said he and other county officials were previously assured it wouldn’t happen again, and that this is the fourth incident at the location, a former Pacific Gas and Electric facility, since 2019. He demanded stricter industry safety regulations at the federal, state, local, and private levels.
Church is demanding that the Vistra facility stay closed until the incident’s cause can be ascertained by an impartial investigation.
Concerns regarding the fire’s effects on the area’s ecosystem are also still present.
This week, Monterey County officials will start testing the local water. They have granted the air quality the all-clear in the interim, despite the harmful smoke that burning lithium batteries produces.
“The air quality is good and…it’s safe to breathe out there,” stated Marni Flagg, the assistant bureau chief for environmental health in Monterey County.
The closed portion of Highway 1 did not reopen until Sunday, despite the lifting of evacuation orders on Friday night.
Residents living close to the facility were nonetheless cautioned by health officials to minimize their exposure to the outdoors and to keep their windows and doors closed until further notice.
Concerns are being raised by the burning fire not only for the local population but also for the endangered sea otters that inhabit the delicate wetlands close to the Vistra factory.
They belong to the keystone species. According to Lilian Carswell, a researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz, “They help to protect the sea beds here in the slough and the kelp beds off shore by eating sea urchins.” “So healthy sea otters mean a healthy environment.”
The Elkhorn Slough Reserve is home to the otters. They will be closely monitored by researchers as the fire burns.
Until further notice, the Elkhorn Slough Reserve is closed. Only roughly 3,000 sea otters remain in California.
Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.