Lithium-ion Battery fire in Escondido Prompts Large Response

What to Know

• A lithium-ion battery fire broke out Thursday afternoon at an SDG&E facility in the 500 block of Enterprise Street
• Initial Evacuations: North of Auto Park Way, south of Mission Road, east of Auto Park Way and Alpine Way, west of Enterprise Street. An evacuation point is at Pala Casino
• Schools closures: Carolyn Gilbert Education Center, the Del Dios Academy of Arts and Sciences and Rock Springs Elementary schools will be closed Friday. Limitless Learning will offer remote instruction
• Road closures: Enterprise Street between Mission Road and Auto Park Way

Thousands of people in Escondido are affected by an incessant fire that sparked Thursday at SDG&E’s Northeast Operations Center, a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility.
The blaze sparked just after noon and is burning in the 500 block of Enterprise Street, just a few blocks from where Interstate 15 intersects with state Route 78 and quickly prompted evacuations of more than 500 businesses and 1,500 SDG&E customer homes, according to the electricity agency.
By Friday morning, firefighters said they noticed all activity died around 1 a.m. and has remained that way since. County hazmat and SDG&E experts are also at the scene with environmental monitors that have not picked up on any toxic gases.
"It’s possible to have a flare-up again, even though we’re not seeing any outward fire activity right now and that’s all good news, but we would hate to tell people it’s safe to come back in these areas and the temperature picks up and one of those things that are been smoldering around for a while lights off, and now we’re right back to where we were yesterday," said Escondido Fire Battalion Chief Tyler Batson.
This fire comes a little more than a week after the Escondido City Council took up the issue of battery energy storage within or adjacent to the North County city. Read more about the city council discussion below......
To READ MORE VISIT THIS NEWS ARTICLE: Lithium-ion battery fire in Escondido prompts large response – NBC 7 San Diego