Escondido Battery Storage Facility Burns for Days

A fire erupted Thursday the 5th inside a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) battery storage facility located in Escondido, California. The fire, which ignited lithium-ion batteries inside a storage container, led to the evacuation of around 500 nearby businesses, according to a fire official.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 12:10 p.m. after responding to reports of smoke and an alarm at the facility situated on Enterprise Street near Commercial Street, explained Escondido Fire Division Chief Tyler Batson. Upon arrival, they discovered a fire within one of the battery storage units, which Batson said was about the size of a trailer.

Following consultations with SDG&E’s fire coordinator, the contracted fire agency, and hazardous materials officials from both San Diego city and county, firefighters opted to let the batteries burn out naturally. Crews used water to cool surrounding storage containers to prevent the fire from spreading, Batson added.

It was decided that it is safer to let the burning batteries burn themselves out. Introducing water to a battery fire can make the situation worse and is not effective in extinguishing it.

An evacuation order was issued for businesses in the vicinity — an area bordered by Auto Park Way, Enterprise Street, West Mission Road, and Alpine Way. Batson noted that no residential properties were impacted.

He added that officials were informed that the fire would last anywhere from 12 to 48 hours before extinguishing itself completely.

He described the evacuations as mainly a precautionary measure.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire was confined to one of 24 battery storage units at the 30-megawatt facility, and advanced fire suppression systems were activated right away.

Image credit: Don Bartletti – The San Diego Union-Tribune