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A fire erupted at the Moss Landing battery plant in Monterey County on Friday morning, forcing nearby residents to shelter in place along a portion of Highway 1.
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This is the third time the battery plant has reportedly caught fire in the past two years.
North Monterey County Fire District firefighters first responded to a reported structure fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant around 6:15 a.m., Cal Fire said in a Facebook post.
When crews arrived, they found smoke and a fire burning on the north side of the facility, Cal Fire said.
At 7:30 a.m., the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office issued a shelter in place order for all residents within a third-mile of the 1,060-megawatt battery energy storage facility at 7301 Highway 1 while emergency personnel monitored and responded to the blaze.
The Sheriff’s Office said the order was sent out as a precaution due to “smoke and potential hazardous material” that could arise with the battery fire, according to a Friday news release.
“Do not leave your shelter location until officials announce that the shelter in place order has been lifted or provide additional instructions,” the release said.
Local roads in the area were also closed while the fire was underway. According to Caltrans, Dolan Road between Highway 1 and Villa Tanques Road in Moss Landing was shut down as of 8:15 a.m.
Local residents were advised to immediately go indoors and close windows and doors, bring pets inside and turn off heating, air conditioning and all systems that bring outside air in and bring pets inside.
People traveling through the area were advised to leave the area as soon as possible, the release said.
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Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, said in a statement Friday that she was “frustrated and deeply concerned” that another fire had broken out at Moss Landing.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Moss Landing battery plant has caught fire 3 times in 2 years
The oldest portion of Moss Landing caught fire in January 2025, prompting the temporary evacuation of 1,200 residents due to air quality concerns.
Then, a second, smaller fire ignited in the ashes of a previously burned section of the building in February 2025.
No one was injured in either fire.
Scientists at San Jose State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories noted a “dramatic increase” in heavy metals used in lithium-ion batteries in the soil at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve after the battery fire, according to a news release from the university.
Those heavy metals included nickel, manganese and cobalt, and they could have an impact on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the report said.
The first fire reignited safety concerns about batteries in Morro Bay, and the City Council temporarily blocked the city’s ability to consider new permits for the development of battery energy storage facilities within city limits.
The beach town is now considering a permanent ban on utility-scale battery plants.
This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 9:30 AM with the headline “Another battery fire erupts at Moss Landing, shelter-in-place order issued.”
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