A significant fire erupted Thursday afternoon at one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities in Northern California, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents and the closure of a portion of Highway 1.

Around 1,500 people in the Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough areas were ordered to evacuate as flames and thick black smoke billowed from the Moss Landing Power Plant, located approximately 77 miles (124 kilometers) south of San Francisco, according to The Mercury News.

The facility, owned by Texas-based Vistra Energy, contains tens of thousands of lithium-ion batteries used to store renewable energy like solar power. However, lithium battery fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish, posing serious challenges to firefighters.

“This is a disaster; there’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV, though he reassured that the fire was unlikely to spread beyond the plant’s concrete structure.

The plant has experienced previous incidents, with fires in 2021 and 2022 attributed to malfunctions in the fire sprinkler system, which caused overheating in some units, The Mercury News reported.

Fire crews are continuing their efforts to control the blaze, and residents are urged to adhere to evacuation orders and avoid the affected areas for their safety.