Lithium-Ion Batteries, Melted EVs Create New Hazards in SoCal Fire Zones

The devastation of the Palisades Fire is seen at sunset in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 14. Ethan Swope/AP Photo

This month’s deadly and destructive Los Angeles fires that claimed 28 lives burned with such intensity that electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries melted to the ground, creating hazardous conditions as residents began returning to their communities Jan. 28.

Specialists with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were leading the large-scale cleanup of the batteries Tuesday.

The Palisades Fire burned more than 36 square miles and tore through neighborhoods full of electric vehicles and solar panels after years of state-sponsored green-energy policies.

The size of the Palisades fire and number of lithium-ion batteries left behind make it one of the largest hazardous-materials cleanups that local first responders have seen, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Adam VanGerpen.

“We’ve never seen it on this scale,” VanGerpen told The Epoch Times. “We are talking a very large scale.”

Lithium-ion batteries are used in cellphones, tablets, laptops, wireless headphones, electric cars, and solar panel storage.

Many of the batteries and electric vehicles melted after they were abandoned by fleeing residents starting Jan. 7, VanGerpen said.

“We have to remove the entire vehicle,” he added.

Actor and Pacific Palisades homeowner James Woods said in a post on social media platform X Monday that the melted electric cars were “creating a real problem for safe debris removal.”

“While I am grateful to have President Trump in charge of the federal assistance so desperately needed, we can’t ignore that the electric cars have literally melted into the earth where they stood,” Woods wrote.

LAFD hazmat crews have surveyed the fire zone, searching through 6,837 destroyed homes and buildings, and 12,317 others that were damaged, according to numbers issued Tuesday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

The teams used software to locate and flag the zone’s lithium-ion batteries, according to VanGerpen.

Cars and homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 9. Zoë Meyers/AFP via Getty Images

Some batteries appear intact and untouched but could still produce toxic gases, reignite, or explode, making them the first priority for cleanup crews, he said.

All new homes built in California since Jan. 1, 2020, are required to have solar panels, which also require the installation of lithium-ion batteries.

Pacific Palisades Charter High School, which was destroyed in the fire, was in the process of adding solar panels to its buildings before the disaster.

Local officials lifted the last of the evacuation orders Monday, allowing residents back into the Palisades and Eaton fire zones. Most areas are open only for residents, who are allowed to return during non-curfew hours between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. after getting an entry pass.

On Jan. 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to direct fast debris removal in the fire zones. He reiterated his push to speed up the recovery during a news conference Tuesday.

California joined with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send a letter Monday to the EPA telling the agency they needed debris removed within the next 30 days, according to Newsom.

Nearly 2,000 California National Guard troops were still assigned to the fire zones to help with removing debris. “We will do whatever it takes to provide that support for the EPA,” Newsom said.

The EPA received Newsom’s letter and started cleaning hazardous debris Monday, according to spokeswoman Anna Drabek.

The agency has set up a hazardous debris collection site in each of the Palisades and Eaton fire zones.

“We’ve been preparing [the sites] to start receiving the materials, which started yesterday in both locations,” Drabek told The Epoch Times.

Many homes have damaged or destroyed lithium-ion batteries, battery energy storage systems, and electric or hybrid vehicles, she said.

The batteries should be considered “extremely dangerous, even if they look intact,” according the agency’s news release Tuesday.

The agency can’t tell residents not to return to their property, even if toxic or hazardous debris still exists, but is encouraging residents to be cautious about the danger, she added.

“We just want folks to be aware of the risks they may be taking,” Drabek said.

The EPA encouraged residents to exercise extreme caution when returning to their properties and call their hotline at 1-833-798-7372 if they encounter a lithium-ion battery.

The agency was given $175 million for debris removal and a 60-day timeline to remove toxic and hazardous waste, according to Newsom.

The EPA plans to create a lithium-ion battery de-energizing and staging area, similar to what was created after the 2023 Maui wildfire.

A basketball is stuck in the net outside a home destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 24. Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

“As part of the hazardous material removal work, U.S. EPA has also been tasked to safely remove batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles and home backup power supplies,” the agency wrote on a page dedicated to the L.A. fires.

The EPA is working with California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to develop a full inventory of properties that need hazardous material removal.

Other hazardous materials burned in the blaze include paints, cleaners, solvents, oils, herbicides, and pesticides, according to the EPA. Pressurized fuel cylinders, like propane tanks, could also pose a threat and will be removed by cleanup crews, the agency said.

Once these materials have been cleared on a property, the EPA will place a sign on the site indicating it is safe to enter.