This page documents the high-profile lithium-ion incidents—spanning grid-scale energy storage systems (BESS), freight transport, and industrial facilities—that are contributing to this public resistance. While thermal runaway is statistically rare, the highly visible nature of these events creates a challenging reality for developers navigating local permitting and community relations. These headlines frequently translate into local opposition, prolonged permitting battles, and stalled timelines, highlighting the growing friction between essential energy infrastructure and public perception.
Incidents
Warwick, NY Battery Storage Facility Fire12/19/2025
A fire ignited at a Convergent Energy and Power battery storage facility in the Village of Warwick, New York, on the night of Friday, December 19, 2025. The incident began around 10:15 p.m. at the 28 Church Street site, nearby the Warwick Valley Central School District facility that suffered a major, multi-day blaze in June 2023. Officials attributed the malfunction to water infiltration— the exact same failure pathway for the 2023 event. The event has reignited community concerns as the batteries had been recently retrofitted and deemed “waterproof” following the previous incidents. No injuries were reported.
Source: westchester.news12.com
Pasadena, CA General Motors Design Studio Fire10/22/2025
A massive four-alarm fire erupted at General Motors’ Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday evening, October 22, 2025, at approximately 5:50 p.m. More than 100 firefighters and hazardous materials teams responded to the blaze at the 149,000-square-foot facility located in the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The fire involved lithium-ion batteries and multiple prototype concept cars under development, making it one of the largest structure fires in Pasadena in many years. A firefighter became trapped inside the building and issued a mayday call but was successfully rescued without injuries. Multiple concept vehicles were destroyed in the blaze, and the cause remains under investigation.
Peoria, AZ BESS Facility Fire10/1/2025
A lithium battery fire broke out at a Salt River Project (SRP) battery storage facility near the border of Glendale and Peoria, Arizona, on the evening of Wednesday, October 1, 2025. The fire began around 5:00 p.m. at the Bolster Substation near 73rd Avenue and Northern Avenue, where flames were seen coming from containers housing batteries at the 25-megawatt site. Dozens of firefighters from Glendale, Peoria, and Phoenix responded to contain the blaze. No injuries were reported.
Source: azfamily.com
Boulder City Solar Facility Battery Fire9/24/2025
A lithium battery fire broke out at the Townsite Solar facility in Boulder City, Nevada, on the evening of Tuesday, September 23, 2025, after two Tesla Megapack battery units ignited. The first 911 call came in at 6:57 p.m., and Boulder City Fire Department crews arrived within eight minutes to find one unit fully engulfed in flames. A second battery unit later caught fire, and by 11:45 p.m. both continued to burn and smolder.
Source: ktnv.com
California I-80 Tesla Battery Truck Rollover8/11/2025
A semi-truck hauling Tesla batteries overturned on westbound Interstate 80 near Hirschdale Road, close to the California-Nevada border, on August 11, 2025. The big rig pulled over on its side around 7 a.m. No injuries were reported, but the specialized nature of the Tesla battery cargo complicated cleanup efforts and caused significant traffic delays. Westbound I-80 was reduced to one lane, backing up traffic to the Nevada state line.
Source: sfchronicle.com
Alaska Cargo Ship Car Carrier Fire6/3/2025
A major fire broke out on the cargo ship Morning Midas off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on June 3, 2025. The vessel was transporting over 3,000 vehicles, including around 800 electric and hybrid cars. Smoke was first seen from the EV-laden deck. All 22 crew members evacuated safely after failing to control the blaze. The fire, still burning, was allowed to burn out due to the extreme challenges of extinguishing lithium-ion battery fires at sea.
Source: nytimes.com
East Tilbury, England Statera BESS Fire (300 MW / 600 MWh)2/19/2025
A fire broke out at Statera Energy’s Thurrock battery energy storage system (BESS) project in East Tilbury, Essex, on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 19, 2025. The incident began around 4:00 p.m. at the massive under-construction site, which is planned to be one of the largest battery facilities in the UK. Fire crews worked through the night and into the following day to contain the blaze, utilizing water curtains to prevent the flames from spreading beyond the single containerized battery unit involved. The fire was reportedly caused by a fault in a battery cell within the unit. While the facility was not yet fully operational, the incident required significant emergency resources and investigation before the site could be handed back to management on February 20.
Source: energy-storage.news
Moss Landing Power Plant Fire1/16/2025
On January 16, a significant fire erupted at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California, one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery storage sites. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order to approximately 1,500 residents in Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area due to potential exposure to toxic smoke. The fire continued to rage and smolder through the night into the morning, and due to the challenges in extinguishing a fire of this type and size, firefighters were forced to allow the fire to burn out on its own.
Source: ess-news.com
Missouri Battery Recycling Facility Fire10/30/2024
Residents of a southeast Missouri town were forced to evacuate their homes Wednesday when a fire erupted at a nearby battery recycler. Residents were urged to shelter in place, close windows, doors and turn off window AC systems. The fire erupted in spite of what the company’s website calls “like the most sophisticated automated and remote supervised and controlled fire suppression system in the world.”
Source: missouriindependent.com
CATL Battery Factory Fire9/30/2024
A fire broke out Sunday at a factory belonging to Chinese battery giant CATL, which supplies electric vehicle makers including Tesla. Emergency services were sent to the plant to fight the fire and to organize the evacuation of any people who were inside the 15,000 square meter (160,000 square feet) site.
Source: barrons.com
Port of Los Angeles fire9/27/2024
A tractor-trailer carrying lithium-ion batteries overturned and caught on fire on a highway near the Port of Los Angeles. There were flames as high as 10 feet. Firefighters were letting the fire burn out instead of trying to put it out with water.
Source: nytimes.com
Port of Montreal fire9/23/2024
A fire broke out in a container at the Port of Montreal holding 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries. Residents of the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough were advised to stay in their homes Monday (yesterday) evening and close their windows as smoke filled the area.
Source: globalnews.ca
Singapore’s Loyang Data Center9/10/2024
A fire broke out at a data center in Singapore’s Loyang area on September 10, affecting battery rooms, power supply rooms, and an equipment storage room. The cause was believed to be an electrical issue in one of the battery rooms. Firefighting operations continued for over 36 hours, with some damage to the structure but no reported injuries. Companies like Lazada and Alibaba were affected by the incident, leading to significant disruptions for their services.
Source: thestar.com.my
Escondido Battery Fire (30 MW / 120 MWh)9/5/2024
A lithium-ion battery fire at an SDG&E energy storage facility in Escondido on September 5, 2024 burned for 12 hours, prompting evacuations of more than 500 businesses and 1,500 SDG&E customer homes, as well as schools.
Source: nbcsandiego.com
Santa Ana Battery Fire7/17/2024
A fire at a battery energy storage system facility in Santa Ana prompted the evacuation of an industrial area on Wednesday, July 17. Approximately 60 firefighters were involved in the response.
Source: ocregister.com
Otay Mesa Battery Fire (250 MW / 250 MWh)5/15/2024
The May 2024 Otay Mesa battery fire occurred at the Gateway Energy Storage facility, located in an industrial park. The fire, which lasted nearly 17 days, required 50 firefighters and 8 million gallons of water to control.
Source: nbcsandiego.com
California highway fire7/26/2024
A truckload of batteries caught fire after an accident on a California highway on Friday, July 26, just before 6 a.m. PST, trapping drivers in 109-degree heat from road closures as the lithium product burned through the weekend.
Source: nytimes.com
Melba, Idaho Battery Fire (2 MW / 8 MWh)10/2/2023
The battery fire at the Idaho Power substation in Melba, which started on October 2, 2023, burned for three days before it was fully extinguished.
Source: kivitv.com
Queensland, Australia (50 MW / 100 MWh)9/26/2023
A fire broke out during the commissioning process of Tesla Megapacks in Queensland, Australia in September 2023, producing hazardous smoke and prompting evacuations. The fire burned for four days before it was fully extinguished.
Source: pv-magazine.com
Valley Center, California (140 MW 560 MWh)9/18/2023
The Moss Landing battery fire on September 20, 2022 occurred at the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System in Valley Center, California. The fire started in a Tesla Megapack and burned for five hours, leading to a day-long shelter-in-place order for nearby residents and shutting down nearby Highway 1.
Source: cbsnews.com
Chaumont, NY (5 MW / 15 MWh)7/27/2023
The 2023 Chaumont, New York battery fire occurred at a solar farm on July 27 and lasted for about six days. The fire prompted local authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents within a mile of the site due to potentially toxic smoke
Source: cbsnews.com
Warwick, NY (8 MW / 38 MWh) + (4 MW / 17.9 MWh)6/26/2023
The 2023 battery fire in Warwick, NY, began on June 26 at a lithium-ion battery storage facility on Route 1A, 500 feet away from the Warwick Valley Central School District, and lasted for three days. The fire was caused by a manufacturing defect that allowed water to seep into the battery containers, resulting in an electrical short. On the same day, another fire broke out at a nearby battery storage site. Both incidents were likely triggered by a severe storm that caused lightning strikes and power surges.
Source: hudsonvalley.news12.com
East Hampton, NY (5 MW / 40 MWh)5/31/2023
The East Hampton battery fire occurred on May 31, 2023, at a 5-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system located at a substation. The fire lasted for approximately two days before it was fully extinguished.
Source: easthamptonstar.com
Valley Center, California (140 MW 560 MWh)9/18/2023
The Moss Landing battery fire on September 20, 2022 occurred at the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System in Valley Center, California. The fire started in a Tesla Megapack and burned for five hours, leading to a day-long shelter-in-place order for nearby residents and shutting down nearby Highway 1.
Source: cbsnews.com
* =large-scale lithium but not BESS fires