MOSS LANDING — Vistra officials say the cleanup process is likely to take more than a year following the Jan. 16 fire at the Moss landing Battery Plant.
During the Monterey County media briefing Wednesday, David Yeager, director of project development for Vistra, said 85-90% of the accessible batteries damaged in the Moss 300 building had been delinked. Officials say they are working with engineers to determine how to access the other parts of the building.
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Crews have been delinking the batteries to lessen the risk of large flare-ups. The process has been delayed due to the weather a couple of times, and crews have been vigilant to avoid any injuries in the unstable building.
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“Recovery efforts will take at least a year and that’s largely due to the compromised structure, and many phases of work will be required,” Yeager said. “The investigation into the cause will take some time.”
There is not yet a timeline on when the demolition process will start.
“At this point we are focused on the delinking process,” said Brad Watson, senior director of community affairs for Vistra, during last week’s briefing. “We are considering demolition vendors at this time and we’re going to be very methodical on how to move forward on this process, so there’s not going to be a schedule for a while, I would say months, not weeks.”
Yeager added that as the process moves forward, updates from Vistra would be less frequent. However, Monterey County officials and the Board of Supervisors will keep updates going online and during meetings.
Monterey County is condensing all new information and updates onto the Ready Monterey County website at https://www.readymontereycounty.org/emergency/2025-moss-landing-vistra-power-plant-fire.
“Our priority is ensuring the safety of the community and answering their questions and concerns,” said Kelsey Scanlon, director of Emergency Management for Monterey County. “The website has a user-friendly experience that provides updated information on the cleanup progress.”
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors will host monthly updates regarding the power plant incident. The next meeting is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 168 W. Alisal Street, Salinas. The meeting will be broadcast on the county’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. The meeting can be streamed via Zoom.
