A fire at the world’s largest battery storage plant in Northern California smoldered Friday after sending plumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere, leading to the evacuation of up to 1,500 people. The blaze also shook up the young battery storage industry.

Then in September 2022, a fire broke out at the PG&E Elkhorn battery plant. Police closed Highway 1 for 12 hours. An investigation found it was caused by an improperly installed vent shield on one of the 256 units, which allowed rainwater to get in and short out the batteries. There were no injuries to firefighters, PG&E employees or the public.

The massive fire at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage plants in Northern California has shaken a local community worried about possible long-term impacts and brought scrutiny to the emerging industry's safety practices.

Evacuations were lifted Friday night for people near an ongoing fire that erupted Thursday at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in the northern half of California. Video circulating on social media showed smoke and flames erupting from the Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday night in the Monterey County community of Moss Landing,

A fire at a major battery-storage plant in Northern California prompted the evacuation of hundreds of nearby residents and the closure of schools and parts of Highway 1 nearby. Residents of the area around the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County were evacuated late Thursday after the fire broke out.

Authorities in Monterey County, California lifted all evacuations Friday night, one day after a fire broke out at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage facilities.