Updated 6:00 p.m. Friday: Monterey County has lifted all evacuation orders.
The active fire in Moss Landing at a battery energy storage plant has Monterey County officials continuing to advise residents to stay indoors with windows closed.
Already, residents and elected officials are asking Vistra—the company that owns the plant—to explain how the fire started and why the built-in fire suppression system didn’t stop it.
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church says this sector of the renewable energy industry needs to close gaps in safety and planning.
"This is really a Three Mile Island event for this industry," he said. "If renewable energy is going to be a future, it really needs to rest on safe energy."
The fire did not ignite vegetation or spread beyond the site. The company said as of Friday morning their preliminary air monitoring data indicated no hazardous chemicals. Vistra regional Vice President Pete Ziegler said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a third party air quality consultant are involved.
"We will continue to work collaboratively with all those resources so that we have a full picture for the community," he said. "And we will disseminate that as soon as we have all that information to us."
State Assembly member Dawn Addis, whose district includes Moss Landing, said she is "incredibly concerned" and wants to see full transparency in the investigation that will now begin.
Addis and Church held a press conference Friday afternoon and called on Vistra to keep the plant off-line for now.
