LA VERNE, CA — Hazardous materials crews were monitoring rising temperatures Wednesday in a battery storage unit near a solar farm at a Metropolitan Water District facility in La Verne adjacent to an identical unit that caught fire and burned a day earlier.
The storage unit being monitored began smoking and making popping sounds Tuesday evening due to heat exposure from the original fire and by about 7 a.m. Wednesday, the temperature inside had jumped about 20 degrees to around 90 degrees, La Verne Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Savage told City News Service.
"It was in the low 70s at midnight," he said. "It's now approaching the 90s and it's not that warm here yet."
Grace Elementary School was to remain closed Wednesday. The school was placed under a shelter-in-place order Tuesday as was Bonita High School as crews worked to contain the blaze.
The fire prompted the closure of the University of La Verne. The university announced it will reopen Wednesday.
An evacuation order for the immediate vicinity of the MWD facility remained in effect Wednesday.
The fire broke out around 11:40 a.m. Tuesday at the facility at 3201 Wheeler Ave., Savage said.
As Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to the scene, there was a small explosion in the battery unit, Savage said.
Due to the hazardous nature of lithium batteries, fire crews sprayed the area with water to prevent the flames from spreading.
Evacuation orders were issued in the areas around the facility. La Verne police said shopping centers along Wheeler Avenue north of Foothill Boulevard were evacuated as a precaution.
At about 12:50 p.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department announced the fire was a hazardous materials incident and an evacuation order was issued "for everyone near Wheeler and Bonita Avenue."
"Gather family and LEAVE NOW," the fire department advised on social media. "Your safety is in danger if you stay. Use caution while evacuating. Follow instructions from emergency personnel."
By about 2:30 p.m., the fire activity had diminished significantly, but a hazard remained, Savage said. He said one civilian was injured in a fall and taken to a hospital. The injury was not severe, Savage said.
A short time later, some evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings, while others were reduced to advisories for residents to remain alert. An evacuation order remained in place in the immediate vicinity of the facility.
Both the battery storage unit that caught fire and the one being monitored Wednesday is 8 feet wide, 8 feet high and 20 feet long, Savage said.
The original fire was put out Tuesday night, but a drone was being used to monitor the temperature in both units, he said.
"The original battery bank, that fire has subsided. There's no active fire there," Savage said.
As for the second unit, it was exposed to fire and around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday crews heard pops and saw puffs of smoke and saw that a door jamb had been blown ajar.
"The concern is that behavior is going to continue," which would require the same cooling measures employed Tuesday.
Air quality monitoring is showing no sign of dangerous toxins, Savage said..
The area under the evacuation order is bounded by Moreno Avenue to the west, Foothill Boulevard to the north, B Street to the east and Paseo Drive, Winterhaven Drive and Kendrick Drive to the south, according to a statement posted on La Verne's website.
Residents within the area are ordered to remain evacuated until further notice and residents with nowhere to go are encouraged to call the La Verne Police Department Watch Commander at 909-596-1913.
An emergency shelter has been set up at the La Verne Community Center.
The MWD issued a statement saying the fire occurred "at a battery energy storage system near a solar panel field on the northeast side at the La Verne facility, which also houses the Weymouth Water Treatment Plant. The safety of Metropolitan's water supply is not affected."
Residents can receive updates from the social media pages of the La Verne fire and police departments or at laverneca.gov/736/METROPOLITAN-WATER- DISTRICT—-SEPTEMBER-.
The MWD is a regional water wholesaler that distributes water to agencies throughout Southern California, serving millions of customers.
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