A fire that sparked Friday at the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County ignited in batteries that had not yet been removed after a larger fire at the same facility in January 2025. The county issued shelter-in-place orders within a third of a mile of the Vistra battery energy storage facili ty at the power plant at 7301 state Highway 1 after the fire was first reported around 6:15 a.m. Friday. Those orders were lifted at around 4 p.m. Authorities held a midday briefing to provide an update on the fire, which was expected to burn itself out by Saturday, but was brought under control Friday afternoon. The fire involved batteries that had not yet been removed from the site after the larger fire on Jan. 16, 2025. Assemblymember Dawn Addis says about 1,500 hard-to-access batteries remain on the property. Jess Cortez, fire chief with the North County Fire Protection District said the batteries 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 that unit had been disconnected from the electric grid after the 2025 fire, according to Ron George, manager of the Vistra plant in Moss Landing. George acknowledged that until all batteries are removed from the site, there is a possibility of future flareups like the one that occurred Friday. Monterey County Jul 25 Environmental Protection Agency gives update on Moss Landing fire cleanup Monterey County Apr 28, 2025 Experts question pre-fire change to key Moss Landing safety system Investigative Unit Mar 25, 2025 Heavy metals found in dust miles from Moss Landing battery fire The shelter-in-place orders in the immediate vicinity of the facility remained in place until Friday afternoon. Authorities had also initially instructed students and staff at some schools in the area to stay inside Friday morning, but eventually allowed students to go outside. No injuries have been reported in connection with the fire. 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 is “deeply disappointed and frustrated” at having to deal with another fire at the same site. Church said the fire underscores how volatile the battery storage systems can be and said it is “troublesome for the community when this continues to come up.” Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 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 in September 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. Monterey County sheriff’s spokesperson Cmdr. Andres Rosas said there was no estimate yet for when the shelter-in-place orders will be lifted. “We will update the community as soon as we make a decision,” Rosas said. Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas issued the following statement on the fire: “The safety of our Central Coast community is always a top priority, and my team is closely monitoring the battery storage facility fire at Moss Landing. We are grateful to the firefighters and first responders on the scene, and our office is receiving regular updates. If you live in the area, please follow all emergency guidance and warnings, and heed the directions of local officials. Thanks again to the brave first responders and emergency personnel always working to protect our community.” ...read more read less