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Otay Mesa battery storage fire frightens Morro Bay residents

May 31, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

After more than two weeks, firefighters are still on scene at a battery storage facility fire in Otay Mesa in Southern California.

On May 15, the Otay Mesa facility erupted in flames. Because of the presence of lithium-ion batteries, firefighters were unsure how to put the fire out and how to keep it out.

“You have to put water on it to keep the fire confined, but that water damages the batteries also allowing them to arc starting another fire,” said Cal Fire Capt. Brent Pascua. “We’re just trying to keep the public safe and keep the fire contained to the building.”

The fire is expected to consumed 15 to 20 million gallons of water. Within three hours of the fire’s ignition, there were lethal amounts of Hydrogen Cyanide in the air, according to Cal Fire.

Issues with extinguishing the fire and the toxic gases released have given Morro Bay residents more reasons they do not want a battery storage facility in their city.

“The problem in Morro Bay is the location of the proposes battery storage facility,” said Morro Bay resident Rachel Wilson. “It is proposed to be in the heart of a tourist area and approximately .31 miles from our high school. It is located between the tourist area and our iconic rock. If there were an incident at the facility, this community could not quickly evacuate. Those near the rock would have to drive towards the fire and the smoke could close down Highway 1, which is our only evacuation route.”

Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation, a group of Morro Bay residents focused on preserving the city’s coastline for the community and tourists, collected the required signatures to put a measure on the ballot to block the construction of a battery storage facility near the old power plant.

Artist rendering of proposed Morro Bay battery storage facility

Vistra, a Texas-based energy company, has plans to replace the Morro Bay power plant with a battery energy storage facility.

The proponents for yes on Measure A-24, Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation, are hosting a kickoff celebration on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Morro Bay Community Center at 1001 Kennedy Way.  While enjoying a complimentary lunch and music by Jill Knight, attendees can learn more about battery storage facilities and the group’s goal of protecting the quality of life in Morro Bay.

 


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Nimbys, the worst kind of Slo resident next to LLCs. They should move to the valley.


-7

If you own an EV, be sure to charge the EVs battery a safe distance away from your house in your front driveway, not inside your garage. The lithium batteries in EVs are a disaster waiting to happen.


24

A gas line that’s 80 year old is an “accident waiting to happen” said all the victims in CA. A Methane well uncapped is an accident waiting to happen ” said the thousands of LA citizens”. A broken oil pipe ” is an accident waiting to happen” said dick Nixon; the founder of the EPA. Fear mongering that’s totally unfounded in regard to lithium and PROPER oversight and construction.


-24

Regardless of whether or not you are for or against these projects (wind energy, natural energy storage i.e. battery storage, etc) it is the absolute hypocracy of people who want the power plant closed, nuclear reactors shut down but want it all magically replaced with no impact to their current way of life, or their ocean views.


44

It is also moronic to destroy our tourism based economy for offshore energy and battery storage. There are better places.


19

I for one can happily live without the tourists/their money. Better off without them actually imo. Maybe I’m just tired of picking up their trash!


-7

But, you won’t. Without the former power plant, and the former powerhouse fishing industry, Morro Bay only HAS tourism as income.


7

Believe it or not; the beach is enough for me. The “amenities”, “experiences” and even “entertainment” Morro Bay might install with that income are meaningless things I can live happily without. Not like they pave the roads anyways!


1

Agree.


-4

Who do think supports the economy and economic vitality of Morro Bay? This is not a rhetorical question. The answer is TOURIST and TOURISM and “their money.”


3

That would be the people that live here full time. Those are the people who actually support Morro Bay! For you to dismiss the locals and give credit entirely to tourists who treat the place like their playground is insulting and ignorant. The shops selling knickknacks along the embarcadero? They are NOT crucial and can all disappear for all I personally care.


0

Housing crisis with Airbnb as a crutch, job markets and the gentrification of the Central Coast scares me more then a battery fire.


-28

Agree. And LLCs building any new urban sprawl.


-4

What sprawl? I moved to MB in the early ‘60’s and in high school I remember looking at the population sign coming into town and it was something just shy of 10k, thinking what a small town I live in. Now in 2024 it is what, slightly above 10k?


This scare tactic of “sprawl” and “big , evil developers at the gates” mantra is tired, old, and lacks foundation. Things change over time. Sometimes too fast for our liking perhaps but the march of time keeps coming at all of us regardless. Part of being a healthy adult is accepting change while exerting some influence on it.


12

When an LLC from out of town comes to paso to design an outdated urban sprawl of several hundred cookie cutter boxes side by side you can hear your neighbor fart through a wall, only to rent these places at market value; which is such a psychopathic metric, without any chance of ownership? Is this making sense? And all while we ignore our Poisoned water table and shrinking basin, Fear mongering or just, ya know, Common sense and rational collegiate thinking?


-1

“You’re confused, RBMK reactor cores don’t explode. Akimov!“


-20

The western world hasn’t used pile reactors since the 1950’s, preferring the much safer closed system. The Soviets didn’t care….still don’t.


20

Morro Bay please don’t allow this… Have a little imagination regarding that property…


40

yep, favorable tourist related and housing zoning would do it.


6

Kind of dumb to use an ocean proximity site for battery storage.


30

Or use an ocean in proximity to build houses or a city? Seriously?


-2

Or use a water artery to dump nitrogen and roundup and chemicals from bad Ag into the bay causing a massive starfish die off and sea grass death? Or here’s ones, building a nuclear reactor on a double fault and storing the waste on site in open air pools?


-1

Morro Bay is one of jewels of the California coast. This area should be developed with a combination of commercial/multifamily uses. The proposed industrial use is completely wrong. Vote yes on A-24


36

Building more houses on a tsunami prone area? And near coastal erosion and sea level rise?


-8

This battery storage proposal is a disaster waiting to happen. Why would anyone in his right mind put this in the midst of a tourist area, 1/3 mile from the high school, with very limited egress in case of a fire?

How about asking residents for alternative uses for this property? Between this facility and the proposed wind farm, Morro Bay will be unrecognizable in five short years.


54

A typical gas station, surrounded by businesses and often by schools and hospitals etc, has an avg of 30-40000 gallons of gas sitting underneath it… If that were to explode? No one is boycotting those placements though.


-10

So true.


-7

Gasoline doesn’t spontaneously combust and for can be easily suppressed using traditional means of fire suppression… large installments of lithium batteries not so much.


9

While I agree with your sentiment, this is private property. Like it to not, big energy companies exist to make a profit. If you don’t like their ideas offer to buy the land from them. Somehow folks got the idea that the decision about what to do with this facility is a group decision. It is not.


-1

Otay you’ve convinced me Morro Bay embarcadero is no place for an industrial storage battery facility. Furthermore, why was it permitted without a fire suppression system? If there are no such systems, they should not be allowed near populated areas.


2

Yeah calm down, it only took firefighters 10 days to get the fire under control, and they have reduced the number of firefighters to 15 from 40. Plus the several hundred foot evacuation order has been downgraded to a warning.


44
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