More Pain for Wildfire-Scarred California as Monster Inferno Erupts at One of World's Largest Battery Plants — Sparking Yet More Evacuations
Jan. 17 2025, Published 4:50 p.m. ET
California has been rocked by a new fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the blaze has triggered a mass evacuation of surrounding areas.
The facility is on the site of Vistra Corp's Moss Landing power plant in Monterey County, California, and hundreds of nearby residents were told to leave their homes on Thursday.
Part of a highway in close proximity has also been closed. Fire crews are at the site monitoring the blaze, and in the air drones were deployed to see the extent of the damage.
No fire suppression took place, it was reported, as batteries must burn out themselves with no water being used.
The battery energy storage facility at Moss Landing is among the largest in the world, according to Vistra's website.
Both Vistra and the county official said all site personnel had been evacuated and no injuries were reported.
"There are no active fire suppression efforts going on, as the best approach, according to fire staff, is to allow the building and batteries to burn," according to the Monterey Sheriff official.
Eyewitness video showed flames and smoke billowing from the facility as the sky grew orange around it.
Authorities stated that an investigation into the fire’s cause would begin once the blaze was fully extinguished.
Vistra Corp said yesterday in a statement: "There is an ongoing fire at our Moss Landing Power Plant site. Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders.
"Earlier this afternoon, Vistra personnel called for assistance from the North Monterey County Fire District after a fire was detected in the 300-MW Phase I energy storage facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant site. All site personnel were safely evacuated.
"The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but an investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished."
The Moss Landing site is a key facility for renewable energy storage, making the incident a setback for Vistra and its sustainability initiatives.
An adjacent Tesla battery facility was not affected by the blaze.
The plant is located about 100 miles south of San Francisco and is not close to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
The state has been on alert since the fires started about 10 days ago and has killed at least 27 people.
Meanwhile, RadarOnline.com can reveal Kelly Osbourne has accused celebrities of using victims' "pain" from the devastating Los Angeles fires for self-promotion.
The former reality star called the amount of celebrities using the wildfires as a "photo op" was "disturbing."
Osbourne, 40, made the claim in a since-deleted Instagram video on Wednesday as another round of intense Santa Ana winds sparked fresh fears for the inferno, which firefighters are still working to contain.
She ranted: "Okay, I have a question. Is it just me being my normal, overthinking cynical self or is it really disturbing to see all of these celebrities using other people's pain and suffering as a photo op to say, 'Look I'm helping, I'm doing this, I'm doing that?'
"I don’t believe you help so that you can get attention for helping. I believe you just help because you want to."