UPDATED: Fire at the Vistra battery plant in Moss Landing prompts evacuation orders, road closures.

UPDATED as of 9:00am Fri, Jan. 17.

Highway 1 is closed and people from Moss Landing are ordered to evacuate as a fire burns at the Vistra power plant on Thursday night, Jan. 16 and into the morning of Jan. 17.

"We do have an active fire, burning through the building. Essentially what we are doing is backing out of the facility," North Monterey County Fire Chief Joel Mendoza told the Weekly at about 6:30pm on Thursday. 

The fire at the Vistra lithium ion battery storage facility began at about 3pm on Jan. 16. As of about 10:30pm, officials estimated that 40 percent of the building containing the batteries had burned. As is standard operating procedure for a battery fire, no water is applied—instead of active fire suppression, firefighters simply monitor the situation. 

People in two areas just east of Highway 1 in Moss Landing behind the Moss Landing power plant were advised to shut their windows and doors and shut off air systems until further notice, as advised by Monterey County officials just after 5pm on Thursday, Jan. 16.

At 6:30pm, officials updated that advisory to evacuation orders for the following areas of Moss Landing: south of the Elkhorn Slough, north of Molera Road and Monterey Dunes Way, and west of Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road, extending west to the ocean.

County officials say 1,214 people live in the evacuation zones. 

Caltrans closed Highway 1 on Thursday night, with no estimated time for reopening. Northbound travelers are being diverted at Molera Road, and southbound travelers directed to Struve Road. 

Additional road closures include Dolan Road and Elkhorn Road at Castroville Boulevard; various points along Elkhorn Road, including at Hall Road; for other county road updates, visit the County of Monterey's website.

The Castroville Recreation Center (located at 11261 Crane St., Castroville) is serving as a temporary evacuation point for evacuees in need of assistance. 

County officials have urged members of the public to avoid the area to allow emergency vehicles to respond. 

There are two lithium ion battery storage facilities in the vicinity, one owned by Vistra, one by PG&E. 

"The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but an investigation will begin once the fire is extinguished," according to Vistra spokesperson Jenny Lyon.

"Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders."  

Two previous incidents at this 300-megawatt facility, the Moss Landing Power Plant owned by Texas-based Vistra, turned out not to be fires, but smoke detector system error. In 2022, a Tesla battery at PG&E's Elkhorn Battery plant next door caught fire, prompting shelter-in-place orders and a Highway 1 closure. 

Daniel Dreifuss contributed to this report.