New fire smoulders at Vistra Moss Landing battery site during cleanup

A fire broke out at Vistra's 300-megawatt battery energy storage facility in Moss Landing, California, during ongoing cleanup and demolition work following a major fire at the site in January 2025. By noon on the day of the incident, officials said there was no active fire, only smouldering, and no indication that hazardous materials posed a danger to nearby residents. Dolan Road at Highway 1 was closed while crews monitored the site. The batteries involved were charged but not connected to the state grid, which has been offline since the January 2025 fire. The incident occurred as crews were demolishing fire-damaged portions of the battery building under EPA oversight to access severely damaged battery modules that had previously been inaccessible.

Damaged lithium-ion batteries from the January 2025 fire remained on site and were reported as charged, despite not being connected to the grid. The EPA noted that damaged lithium-ion batteries pose an ongoing fire risk and can release hydrogen fluoride and other flammable or toxic gases when they burn, a risk heightened during demolition and battery removal work.

1. Damaged lithium-ion batteries can remain a fire risk long after an initial incident, particularly if they remain charged.
2. Decommissioning and cleanup operations at damaged battery sites require the same level of fire monitoring, temperature checks and air sampling as normal operations.
3. Clear, prompt public communication during cleanup-phase incidents helps manage community concern even when no active threat is present.

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