# More complex cleanup phase to begin at Moss Landing battery fire site > Source: > Published: 2026-06-30 13:17:42+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...MOSS LANDING — As the first phase of a [historic battery cleanup](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/02/new-study-moss-landing-battery-fire-dumped-55000-pounds-of-toxic-metals-into-wildlife-rich-marshes/) in Moss Landing comes to a close, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Vistra Corp., a Texas-based energy company, are planning for the safe removal of the site’s most damaged batteries. On Jan. 16, 2025, lithium-ion batteries located at the [Moss Landing Vistra power plant](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/01/17/moss-landing-battery-fire-renewable-energy-industry/) caught fire. About 55% of the site’s 100,000 batteries were damaged, as well as parts of the building the batteries were housed in. The disaster drew international attention and sparked local concerns over environmental and health impacts. In September 2025, the first phase of cleanup began at the Moss Landing site. The cleanup is being carried out and paid for by Vistra with oversight from Monterey County, the state and the EPA. The effort is the largest lithium-ion battery cleanup in the EPA’s history. Per a June 24 update on the EPA’s website, Phase 1 of the battery cleanup was expected to finish by the end of June. In the months since the fire, cleanup crews have disconnected accessible batteries to reduce fire risk. As of June 26, over 34,300 intact batteries have been removed from the building, and nearly 34,000 have been de-energized and shipped offsite to be recycled, an EPA spokesperson told the Sentinel. An estimated 5,000 additional undamaged batteries need to be removed in parts of the building that are inaccessible or structurally unsound. In addition to removing, de-energizing and recycling batteries, crews removed and disposed of fire debris from the building that contained asbestos. Firefighting water and storm water being stored on the property was sampled, found to be non-hazardous, and sent offsite for disposal. Crews also demolished parts of the burned building to access additional batteries, according to the EPA. Now that most of the undamaged and easily accessible batteries have been removed, Vistra and the EPA are planning the second and final phase of cleanup, which is expected to begin sometime in the next few months. Crews will need to remove more damaged batteries, as well as battery ash and debris, for proper disposal. Any debris that can’t be recycled will be sampled to identify the appropriate disposal facility. The EPA intends to make the results of this sampling public, said Kelsey Scanlon, director of the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management, at a Monterey County Board of Supervisors meeting June 2. Phase 2 will also include the complete demolition of the building housing the batteries and a more targeted effort to address the remaining asbestos in building materials, the EPA told the Sentinel. Phase 2 is expected to be more complex than Phase 1, as cleanup crews deal with a part of the building that is structurally unsound and with batteries damaged by fire or water. Though there have been no flare ups since February 2025, the EPA anticipates that Phase 2 will come with a higher risk of smoking events. There are several measures in place to ensure the safety of cleanup personnel and the surrounding community. Vistra maintains a 24/7 private firefighting crew onsite and uses thermal imaging and infrared cameras to monitor battery temperatures, according to the EPA. There are also dust control measures, including street sweeping and decontamination of equipment, said Kelsey Scanlon, director of the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management, at a county Board of Supervisors meeting. Brine tanks, water sprayers and battery isolation boxes will be used to control possible smoking events or thermal runaway from unstable batteries, Scanlon added. Vistra also continues to monitor and sample for air quality near the cleanup site. During Phase 2 cleanup, which the EPA expects to last until at least early 2027, residents can expect to see increased traffic on Highway 1 and Dolan Road as more heavy equipment is brought to the site. Residents may also see smoke as damaged batteries are removed, and additional water spraying to control dust as the building is demolished. If any emergency situations arise as Vistra continues cleanup, the company will be responsible for implementing an emergency response plan and notifying local emergency services and the EPA, Scanlon said. If there is an emergency, the EPA intends to notify Monterey County as soon as possible. The timeline for the rest of the cleanup remains unclear. The EPA expects Phase 2 to last until at least early 2027. “This is the most complex debris removal that I’ve had the opportunity to witness,” Scanlon said. “It always goes over the anticipated time frame.”