Toxic fumes from burning Teslas are delaying LA wildfire recovery efforts

Efforts to cleanup areas of LA devastated by wildfires are being delayed by burning Teslas and other electric cars emitting toxic fumes.

The vehicles have lithium-ion batteries that when burned release harmful gases and toxic chemicals into the air that can cause serious health issues.

According to a report in Bloomberg  the batteries will need to be removed by specialists and until that’s done it’s not safe for people to return to their homes.

Jacqui Irwin, a state assembly member representing the Pacific Palisades, one of the worst affected areas, told the publication that there were several burnt or burning electric cars in the evacuation zone.

‘We’ve heard from firefighters that those lithium batteries burned fires near homes—like those with power walls—for much longer,’ she said.

Lithium-ion battery fires can take up to 40 times longer to extinguish than standard car fires, The Conversation reports.

There were over 431,000 Teslas in LA as of October 2024, according to data from S&P Global Mobility.

New registration figures suggest the area has the biggest market share of Teslas in the whole of the US.

Concerns over EV battery fumes in LA come as one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities was consumed by a massive fire near San Francisco, in northern California.

Vistra Corp’s 3000-megawatt Moss Landing energy storage facility – over 300 miles from the LA wildfires in southern California -went up in flames on Thursday.

Officials say the best solution is to let the lithium-ion facility continue to burn, even as it releases toxic fumes into the air.

‘There are no active fire suppression efforts going on, as the best approach, according to fire staff, is to allow the building and batteries to burn,’ according to a Monterey Sheriff official.

No injuries have been reported.

An adjacent Tesla battery facility was not affected by the fire, according to officials.

California has been on alert since the LA fires started about 10 days ago, killing at least 27 people and destroying around 12,300 structures.

The Palisades and Eaton fires have scorched nearly 40,000 acres of land.

Firefighters are still working to contain some of the blazes, including the Eaton fire which was 65% contained as of yesterday.  

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