A fire broke out at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage facilities in Monterey County, California, forcing evacuation orders and closing a portion of coastal Highway 1.

A fire broke out at one of the world's largest battery storage plants in California's Monterey County on Thursday.

The fire started at the Vistra Energy battery plant in Moss Landing, roughly 80 miles south of San Francisco. On Thursday, the fire caused 1,700 people to evacuate, closed part of Highway 1, and generated huge flames and significant amounts of smoke. The cause is under investigation.

A fire at the world’s largest battery storage plant in Northern California is smoldering after sending plumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere.

A plume of material released from the plant contained hydroflouride, a toxic gas, that is now being monitored by Monterey County.

A massive blaze erupted at one of the world’s largest lithium battery storage facilities in wildfire-ravaged California, forcing some 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes as toxic smoke filled the air.

A fire at a one of the world’s largest battery plants in California contained tens of thousands of lithium batteries that store power from renewable energy sources.

People living near a power plant in Central California were ordered to evacuate their homes Thursday night after a fire broke out at the facility, officials said.

Massive fire at California battery plant prompts evacuations and raises concerns about renewable energy storage.

A massive fire that destroyed much of a huge battery storage facility in Moss Landing raised questions, and possible new hurdles, for California’s efforts to shift most of its electricity generation to renewable energy such as solar and wind.

A major fire Friday at one of the world's largest battery storage plants in Northern California sent up flames of toxic smoke, leading to the evacuation of 1,700 people and the closure of a major highway.