Firefighters on California’s Central Coast battled a fire that broke out Friday at the same power plant where a massive lithium battery fire took place last year.
According to the North Monterey County Fire District, the fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant was reported shortly after 6:15 a.m. When crews arrived, they found smoke and fire coming from the north side of the facility.
Firefighters evacuated plant employees as they worked on stabilizing the facility, officials said.
Division Chief Jess Cortez of North County Fire said there was no active fire as of Friday afternoon.
“It is hot, smoldering at this particular point, but the incident is in still within a scope that it could decrease or continue going at this point,” Cortez said.
The Monterey County Department of Emergency Management told nearby residents in zones MRY-B047, MRY-B050 and MRY-B053 to shelter in place, close windows and doors, and shut off air systems. The shelter-in-place was lifted as of 4 p.m. Friday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement on Friday that its personnel were at the site working with the fire department and has been overseeing the removal of battery modules following a fire at the facility last year. The EPA said that planning for possible flareup fire incidents has been a priority and when flareup broke out this morning, an EPA-approved emergency response plan was activated.
In January 2025, a lithium battery storage facility at the power plant caught fire, leading to 1,200 nearby residents being evacuated and a state of emergency being declared. According to the EPA, the 300-megawatt system that was involved in the fire held about 100,000 lithium-ion batteries. About 55% of the batteries were damaged by the fire.
Moss Landing residents filed multiple lawsuits against Vistra Corporation, which operated the battery facility where the fire ignited, along with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and other associated companies.
In July 2025, the EPA entered into an agreement with Vistra to remove damaged batteries from its property.
Local leaders expressed worry about another fire at the facility.
“I’m frustrated and deeply concerned by the repeat fire at Moss Landing,” said Asm. Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), who represents the area. “Although initial cleanup and battery removal, under the supervision of the federal EPA, were completed two weeks ago, 1,500 hard-to-access batteries remain in the damaged area of the facility. This incident is ongoing, and we don’t yet know all details. I strongly ask surrounding communities to follow all safety instructions from emergency services.”
Glenn Church of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors said at a briefing Friday afternoon that he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated” about the incident.
“Once again, this incident really highlights, underscores how just how volatile lithium batteries really are. And while we need reliable and efficient energy storage systems, the key is that they really must be safe at all times,” Church said.
The EPA said that air monitoring stations at the site and nearby community detected no hydrogen flouride gas and no PM2.5 exceedances throughout Friday’s incident.
Moss Landing is located about 90 miles south of San Francisco.
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