Lithium-ion battery fire in La Verne spurs neighborhood, school evacuations

Evacuation orders were issued in La Verne on Tuesday after a hazardous lithium-ion battery fire ignited at a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California facility, authorities said.

There was a “significant explosion” when firefighters from the La Verne and Los Angeles County fire departments arrived at the Wheeler Avenue facility shortly after 11:40 a.m., according to La Verne Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Savage. One civilian was injured and transported to a hospital for treatment, while crews assumed a defensive position and worked to gain a handle on the burning batteries.

The fire started at a battery energy storage system near a solar panel field on the northeast side of the facility, which houses Weymouth Water Treatment Plant, according to the water district.

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“The safety of Metropolitan’s water supply is not affected,” according to a district statement. “We are supporting our first responders as they take the appropriate steps to help ensure the health and safety of residents, employees and others in the affected area.”

Residents living near Wheeler and Bonita avenues were ordered to evacuate around 12:30 p.m., while shelter-in-place orders were issued at Grace Miller Elementary and Bonita High schools, according to the La Verne Police Department. Classes at the University of La Verne were canceled until further notice and students, faculty and staff were asked to leave immediately.

An evacuation shelter has opened at La Verne Community Center, 3680 D St.

After assessing safety conditions around the hazardous blaze, crews were able to use water to start cooling the batteries, enabling them to significantly reduce the risk to the public posed by the fire.

Most evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings shortly before 3 p.m., while orders in the immediate area surrounding the facility remained in place.

A map of areas affected by evacuation orders and warnings can be found here.

Lithium-ion battery fires are challenging to combat, as excessive heat inside the battery creates a self-sustaining chemical reaction called thermal runaway that can easily spread to adjacent batteries.

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

Savage said this was a smaller battery storage facility, about the size of a large pickup truck, and that he anticipates the incident will be “looking really good before the sun sets.”