Lithiumbattery fire

Councilmember McOsker, for his part, doesn’t want to put a pause on the rollout of electric vehicles but agrees that the state needs legislation guiding the safe storage and transport of these batteries.

Fueled in part by a desire to transition away from fossil fuels, the use of lithium-ion batteries has skyrocketed over the last two decades — but so too has the number of battery fires and, as a result, the number of people calling for safety solutions.

Lithium-ion battery

“Over the course of 10 years, we’ve improved our safety standards significantly,” he said. “So the new systems that are going into place are like apples and oranges compared to the old systems.”

Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) said he was alarmed by the effect of July’s I-15 fire, which took place in his district. Shortly thereafter, he and several Republican colleagues sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to hit the brakes on his Advanced Clean Fleets rule, which requires that large trucking fleets be fully electric by 2045 and that most trucks at state ports be that way by 2035.

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In May, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spent 14 days battling a hazardous fire that ignited at a lithium-ion battery storage facility in Otay Mesa. In September 2023, a smaller fire was sparked at a battery storage unit in Valley Center in San Diego County, prompting evacuation orders.

Fires can be caused by overcharging, overheating, physical damage or product defects, which trigger a process known as thermal runaway — in which excessive heat inside a battery creates a self-sustaining chemical reaction that can then easily spread to adjacent batteries.

“We realized we needed [to devote] a lot more attention to the challenge, because it was moving, and still is moving, very fast,” he said. “It’s moving at a rate that regulatory frameworks and permits and municipalities can’t keep up with.”

7:04 a.m. Oct. 28, 2024An earlier version of this article said a lithium-ion battery fire occurred on Interstate 15 near Bakersfield. It was near Baker.

A Tesla semitruck crashed into trees on Interstate 80 in Northern California and its electric battery caught fire, sending toxic fumes into the air.

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Of the 23 people who died in the battery factory fire, 18 were foreigners. South Korea is increasingly reliant on migrant workers.

Lithium-ion battery energy storage sites are being built across California. In Acton, residents fear what could happen if a facility goes up in their fire-prone town.

Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News. While at the Daily News, she published a series on fentanyl addiction that won a first-place investigative journalism award from the L.A. Press Club. Harter majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University. She loves surfing and, when not reporting, can most likely be found in the ocean.

For more than two days, a vital shipping passageway in the Port of Los Angeles was shut down, and the cause was surprising to some. A big rig overturned, sparking a fierce lithium-ion battery blaze that spewed toxic gases, snarled port traffic and resulted in what one official said was massive economic losses from delayed shipments.

In San Diego, Rezende says his department responds to an average of two to three lithium-ion battery fires a week. After the Otay Mesa incident, he took on a newly created role, studying how best to respond to lithium-ion fires and other alternative-energy safety risks.

First, Lackey wants safety regulations to be implemented statewide and fire departments to be educated on how to combat these blazes.

McOsker supported a bill introduced this year by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) that would have required a basic safety inspection of all trucks before they leave port terminals; the bill, however, died in the Assembly. After the September big-rig fire, McOsker introduced a City Council motion to explore the feasibility of implementing such a policy at the Port of L.A.

“I have no beef with moving toward electric vehicles,” Lackey told The Times. “But I say let’s put everything on hold for a few minutes until we know that we’re being able to implement this policy in a safe, nonthreatening manner.”

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In July of this year, a lithium-ion battery fire set off by an overturned truck on Interstate 15 near Baker left drivers trapped for hours in 109-degree heat. Then in last month’s incident, a fire in an overturned big rig carrying the batteries by way of the Vincent Thomas Bridge caused millions of dollars in shipping delays, L.A. City Councilmember Tim McOsker said.

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The best way to stay safe is to purchase devices only from reputable manufacturers, store them in a cool, dry place and use a charger with the correct voltage, Rezende said.

A fire at Valley Center Energy Storage Facility in San Diego County is the latest in a series of incidents; advocates insist problems will get ironed out in time.

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Currently, the only trucks required to undergo safety inspections before departing a terminal are those that have bargaining agreements with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, he said. Independent or privately owned truck operators have an incentive to depart and deliver their goods as quickly as possible, he said.

Rezende said several things could be done to increase transportation safety. They include using low trailers that have a lesser risk of tipping over, as well as adhering to the recommendation that batteries should be transported at a 30% charge — which already is a requirement for batteries shipped by air and reduces the chance of a fire.

“I do not want to slow down the efforts we have made to decarbonize,” he said. “I want us to use all of our ingenuity and all of our lessons learned to make sure that we keep moving as quickly, but as safely, as possible.”

“I don’t think we should depend upon the free market system to ensure the safety of our traveling public and our neighborhoods,” McOsker said. “I think that a local rule would be very important, but I would really prefer a statewide rule, and I think ultimately federal legislation on how to transport and utilize these batteries across the nation would be very important.”

In addition, manufacturers are working to develop newer, safer batteries and storage systems. For example, they are enclosing batteries in thicker cases and increasing the space between batteries to lower the risk of fires spreading, Rezende said.

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These batteries are generally safe with proper care and storage, said Robert Rezende, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department battalion chief and the region’s first lithium-ion battery safety coordinator. But there is serious reason to worry about a crash involving a truck transporting these batteries or a battery storage facility catching fire — two types of incidents that can generate massive blazes, emitting toxic gases for several days, he said.

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But with a combination of improved technology, new regulations and more fire department education, Rezende believes California can meet the challenge of safely managing these powerful batteries.

Once thermal runaway starts, the process cannot be stopped, and batteries will continue to burn for hours. In the case of large, multiple-battery fires, they can burn for days, all the while releasing toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, including cellphones, e-bikes, laptops, wireless headphones, scooters, trucks and cars.