6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 15-21, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS Two camps have emerged in the fight over renewable energy in the aftermath of the Vistra battery plant fire that began one year ago, on Jan. 16, 2025. One is eager to promote broader adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to accelerate a meaningful shift away from petroleum. The other hesitates, pausing to question the safety, regulatory and operational protocols in place. “This has become somewhat of a political hot potato,” says County Supervisor Glenn Church, who represents District 2, which includes Moss Landing. He points to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal for California to be carbon-free by 2045: “There are those who are in favor of [battery energy storage systems] and want us to not dwell on this issue. Then there’s others who are in favor but realize there’s something wrong with these lithium batteries.” It was a Thursday at 3pm when Moss 300 at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant went ablaze. The fire burned for several days, causing a local declaration of emergency by County of Monterey officials. Thousands of residents were evacuated until the fire smoldered. The only way to extinguish it safely was to let it burn out, as water could potentially reignite the batteries. The evacuation order was lifted a day later, after officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deemed the air safe to breathe. One month later, on Feb. 18, Moss 300 flared up again for about 10 hours. Local officials advised residents to keep windows and doors closed to limit exposure. Vistra offered $750 gift cards per household to offset evacuation costs. The multi-agency response in the days and months following the fire left more questions than answers, even a year later. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. “All the people who live in the area, there’s a health risk, health concern. For most, they’ve had a lot of symptoms,” says Knut Johnson, an attorney with Singleton Schreiber, a firm representing roughly 1,000 individuals affected by the fire and evacuations. One plaintiff Johnson represents details ash covering boats in Moss Landing Harbor—where the plaintiff lives—showing elevated levels of heavy metals linked to the plant. Other plaintiffs reported respiratory distress, eye and throat irritation and headaches. There are multiple other cases alleging personal injury, emotional stress and property damage. Singleton Schreiber filed a petition for judicial coordination to have all these cases handled by a single judge. A Monterey and Santa Cruz County community health survey was made available online five weeks after the fire for 25 days, showing that 82.8 percent of 1,539 respondents experienced at least one symptom following the fire. Of those, 286 sought care for their symptoms. Many community members feel that official sampling does not align with reported symptoms, nor fully capture the fallout. A Facebook group called “Moss Landing Power Plant/ Vistra Fire Symptoms” emerged for residents to share experiences—they reported coughing, throat, eye, and skin irritation, nosebleeds. Residents in Prunedale voiced concern for farm animals, including one pregnant animal with multiple stillbirths. The community group Never Again Moss Landing formed, with volunteers collecting samples themselves and sending them to an independent laboratory for analysis. Residents also showed up to Monterey County Board of Supervisors meetings en masse, seeking insight into the testing and guidance on making their homes safe. “This is a public health disaster,” said Kim Solano, co-owner of the Haute Enchilada restaurant in Moss Landing, at an April 22, 2025 meeting. “Thousands of us are struggling to get answers and information about shared issues and concerns that are prohibitively expensive for us to obtain as individuals.” Several agencies were involved in monitoring the contamination, which produced a complex picture of the fire’s impact on human health and the environment. In January 2025, the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) conducted preliminary soil and surface water testing. The limited-scale study did not show elevated heavy metals warranting immediate health action. The EPA, alongside the Center for Toxicology & Environmental Health and Vistra, conducted continuous air monitoring, finding no hazardous conditions posing a risk to public health. Later, the County of Monterey with Terraphase Inc., a consultant hired on behalf of Vistra, initiated a more thorough, two-phase soil sampling study starting in May 2025. State partners, including DTSC and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, reviewed the report. Overall, these reports indicated that sample concentrations were protective of human and ecological health. “The health and safety of our community remains our top priority,” Vistra spokesperson Meranda Cohn says in an emailed statement. “We are pleased to report that air, water and soil testing by multiple agencies over many months have found no risks to public health or agriculture related to the fire.” However, marine geologist Ivano Aiello and a team from Moss Landing Marine Labs provided a different picture. Their research showed elevated heavy metal levels in soil across several areas of Hester Marsh in Elkhorn Slough, though these levels declined rapidly over three months due to rain and tidal inundation. In a Dec. 2 presentation at Moss Landing Marine Labs, Aiello explained that differences in testing methodology were the reason for the discrepancies, emphasizing that initial DTSC sampling was conducted in a way that likely diluted the contaminant concentrations. Today, as cleanup is underway at the battery plant, the health impacts of the fire remain unevenly understood, highlighting challenges poised by an emerging industry. “The investigation remains ongoing,” Cohn notes. “We’re committed to sharing our learnings with the community and industry peers and we will continue to provide updates.” Unlike chronic pollution events such as sewage or ammonia leaks, this battery fire was sudden and acute, requiring a different approach to monitoring and data collection, says Ric Encarnacion, the County’s Environmental Health Bureau Chief. “Moving forward [we need] to increase the capacity to conduct monitoring,” he says. “My hope is that there are more regulations for oversight for the prevention of these incidents at the local level.” Pictured above is the day the fire began, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. Flames were reported to have spread through the roof at 5:35pm, prompting evacuation orders. Renewable Rift One year later, the Moss Landing battery fire leaves more questions than answers. By Katie Rodriguez “Thousands of us are struggling to get answers.” DANIEL DREIFUSS
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