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• A major fire ignites inside Vistra’s 300 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage facility (“Moss Landing 300”), containing ~100,000 modules. The fire at Vistra’s 300 MW lithium-ion battery facility burns from Jan 16 through Jan 22, longer than initial reports suggested.
• North Monterey County Fire opts to let the batteries burn out due to lithium fire hazards.
• Evacuation of 1,200–1,500 residents; Highway 1 closed.
• EPA Region 9 begins emergency air monitoring with 9 perimeter stations.

• The Commuunity gathers at the Prunedale Grange to express fears and ask questions
• A group of 8 volunteer citizens organizes and promotes the event at the behest of local businesswoman, Tonya Rivera.
• Ed Mitchell provides the space, Brian Roeder serves as facilitator, Supervisor Glenn Church addresses the crown, Heather Hobbs handles AV, and Schools Superintendent Matt Turkye speaks.
• Over 200 attend in person, hundreds more are on Zoom and FB Live.
• The facilitation yields initial questions from the community to local elected leaders.

• Monterey County Board of Supervisors declares local emergency.
• Assemblymember Dawn Addis requests CPUC investigation.

• Residents form Never Again Moss Landing (NAML) in response to gaps in official testing.
• Coordinator Brian Roeder purchases sampling kits; volunteers receive chain-of-custody training from BioMax Environmental.
• Sampling begins ~7 days after the fire (Jan 23), with 124 surface wipe samples collected across three counties and sent to an independent Utah lab.

• Dr. Aiello (San Jose State) detects high levels of cobalt, manganese, and nickel in Elkhorn Slough samples.

• NAML red-tags the CPUC-approved site, signaling community concerns about safety and oversight.

Hunterbrook review of NAML’s wipe samples finds:

• Nickel & cobalt concentrations 34× average, up to 180× background near Moss Landing.
• Manganese ~12× higher; lithium ~3× higher.
• UCSC toxicologist warns these metals can cause respiratory, neurological, and carcinogenic effects.

• Damaged batteries smolder; EPA takes over lead cleanup oversight at CalEPA’s request.

• Monterey & Santa Cruz County Health Departments open online survey for residents to report symptoms.

• All damaged battery racks electrically disconnected.

• Data shared with Monterey County, DTSC, CalEPA, CPUC, and press outlets.
• Regulators express chain-of-custody concerns but agree to review findings.

• Controlled debris removal and water collection (~586,000 gallons) for disposal.

• Official split-sample testing of 27 sites for heavy metals and fluoride.

• PG&E seeks to restart Elkhorn BESS; County urges delay.
• Multiple lawsuits filed against Vistra, LG Energy, and PG&E.

• Agency tests show no exceedances of health standards for lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese.

• Erin Brockovich joins NAML efforts.
• Singleton Schreiber LLP hosts town hall to organize lawsuits.

• NAML finalizes its Master Findings Report on June 26, and makes it public mid-July.

• Meeting with the Community Involvement Section Chief, requesting burn site contamination list – EPA’s Section Chief said he would work on getting an answer for NAML

NAML hosts meeting at Prunedale Grange to present Master Findings Report.

Findings include:

• Facility fire suppression failure and unsafe battery stacking.
• Quotes from Vistra’s CEO acknowledging system modifications.
• Regulatory gaps at CPUC and Monterey County.
• Contaminants include heavy metals, PFAS, dioxins, PAHs not tested by regulators.

NAML calls for permanent closure of Vistra BESS building, independent testing, and legislative reform.

• EPA & Vistra sign binding Administrative Settlement Agreement.
• New EPA-hosted public-facing website launched. 
• Findings of Facts has no facts about the contamination characteristics at the burn site

• NAML’s 2nd meeting with EPA Community Involvement Section Chief, regarding burn site pollution list – no list provided

• EPA prvides progress update briefing to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors – no list of contents of burn pile at site provided