Flames and smoke from a fire fill the sky at the Moss Landing Power Plant Thursday Jan. 16, 2025 in Moss Landing, Calif.
Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel/AP
A huge blaze at a massive lithium battery factory in Monterey County sent bursts of flame skyward Thursday night and Friday morning, along with a dramatic column of smoke.
The fire at Moss Landing Power Plant ignited Thursday afternoon, prompting the closure of Highway 1, evacuation orders and school closures in the surrounding area and worries about noxious smoke. Most of the fire was out by Friday morning, but the plant was still smoldering and flared up again in the afternoon, per the Mercury News. The outlet reported that Monterey County Sheriff wouldn’t be lifting the evacuation order in the Moss Landing area until the arrival of a more advanced air monitoring system.
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The worst of the smoke is in Moss Landing itself, 37 miles south of San Jose. Alongside the evacuation order, local officials encouraged residents to close windows and doors, shut off ventilation systems and stay inside.
This image from video shows flames rising after a major fire erupted Thursday afternoon at the Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday, Jan.16, 2025.
KSBW via AP
Meteorologist Rachel Kennedy, from the San Francisco office of the National Weather Service, which is physically based in Monterey, told SFGATE that light winds Thursday night and Friday morning had kept smoke fairly stagnant in the Moss Landing area. What winds there were pushed some smoke westward over Monterey Bay and as far as the Santa Cruz coastline, she said.
But those weather patterns are set to change on Friday afternoon, meaning smoke could reach some inland Central Coast communities as the fire smolders, she continued. With the forecast showing westerly winds, smoke could move over Prunedale and the Elkhorn Slough Reserve — and even potentially travel north of Hollister.
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Friday afternoon’s weather will also be “a little windier,” Kennedy added, with gusts peaking at 10 to 15 mph. “That’s part of the reason why we might see dispersal over a slightly larger area,” she said.
As of 1:40 p.m. Friday, Monterey Bay Air Resources District’s smoke sensors in Castroville, Prunedale, San Juan Bautista and elsewhere didn’t show any unhealthy readings.
For those worried about smoke, Kennedy offered similar advice to that of the county officials, and added that for people who have to go outside, it’s a good idea to wear a mask.
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Jan 17, 2025
