Another fire burns at the Vistra battery facility in Moss Landing.

Light smoke and fire was reported coming from a previously burned section of the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility at 6:30pm on Tuesday, Feb. 18, according to an alert from the County of Monterey.

As part of the response, drones were deployed to evaluate the area, and air monitoring by CTEH is in place both at the site and in the surrounding community as a precautionary measure. 

“We've flown [the drones] for a couple hours now without any sign of actual flame,” North County Fire Chief Joel Mendoza told the Weekly at 10:30am Wednesday morning. “We do see a little residual smoke still coming from the area, but it's very minimal.”

Mendoza adds that the fire occurred in an area that had burned before. “Our best guess, and it's just a guess at this point, is that there are batteries that were damaged, most likely underneath rubble that were damaged either due to heat or water, maybe even one of the recent storms that we had.”

Residents were urged to close windows and doors overnight as a precaution, according to a second alert from the County’s notification system sent at 10pm, Feb. 18. The North County Fire Protection District, along with Vistra, CTEH (an independent environmental firm hired by Vistra) and a range of agency representatives, were deployed to assess the situation and determine the source and cause of the smoke. 

These agencies include CTEH, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, various county agencies including Environmental Health, the Sheriff’s Office, Department of Emergency Management, County Administrative Office and Communications Bureau, as well as Cal Fire, Salinas Fire Department and Marina Fire Department.

After the North County Fire Protection District arrived at the battery plant, the smoke developed into a small smoldering fire that gradually grew until about 8:30pm, before dying off around 2am, according to Mendoza.

“Experts tell us this type of flare up is to be expected,” County of Monterey spokesperson Maia Carroll told the Weekly on Wednesday morning.

Just 35 days ago, the same facility was engulfed in a fire that led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 people and the closure of Highway 1. Since then, a group of Monterey County residents has filed a lawsuit against Vistra and other parties for alleged harm caused by the Jan. 16 fire.

The alerts sent out by the County of Monterey were sent out by text only and to a limited area. 

If you feel you should have received a notice and did not, you can report the problem to alertmontereycounty@countyofmonterey.gov.

Residents with public health and safety concerns due to exposure to harmful chemicals released during the fire can call the front desk of the County Environmental Health Bureau at 755-4505, or go to www.mtyhd.org/mosslanding-concern-form.