ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — A fire that erupted at a San Diego Gas & Electric battery storage facility in Escondido Thursday afternoon prompted evacuations of nearby businesses and the Friday closure of some area schools.
According to an Escondido Fire Department battalion chief, the dispatch center received a call about a ringing alarm at the SDG&E battery bank storage, lithium-ion battery storage units, in the 500 block of Enterprise Street. The caller noticed smoke coming out of the trailer.
Escondido Police evacuated commercial businesses east of the site, and the city and San Diego County hazmat units were dispatched to the scene. The Escondido Fire Department said the evacuation notice went out to more people than intended initially — Click here for an updated list of evacuations.
EVACUATION MAP (RED AREA: EVACUATIONS; PURPLE AREA: SHELTER IN PLACE):
WATCH: Sky10 flew above the blaze to get an aerial view as firefighters attacked it.
Crews contained the fire to one trailer and battled the fire from outside the fence perimeter using a remote water stream. The battalion chief said they were also streaming on other trailers to prevent them from catching and spreading the fire.
The battalion chief also said crews will let the storage unit that is already on fire burn and are not putting water directly on the fire as it will create a bigger mess.
Escondido Fire officials believe it will take 12-48 hours to put out the fire.
SDG&E provided the following statement to ABC 10News:
“This afternoon, safety crews responded to a fire at SDG&E’s battery storage facility in Escondido. Advanced fire suppression systems were activated immediately, and the event is limited to one of 24 battery storage containers. There are no reported injuries and emergency responders are on scene. SDG&E is working with first responders to ensure safety of our employees and the community and will be conducting a thorough review of the event to determine the cause of the incident.”
The Escondido Police Department placed an evacuation order on the Carilyn Gilbert Education Center building, Del Dios Academy of Arts and Sciences, Limitless Learning Academy and Rock Springs Elementary, according to the Escondido Union School District.
"Out of an abundance of caution and due to the unpredictable nature of the fire," the Escondido Union School District said it canceled school operations for the three sites on Friday but plans to resume classes on Monday, Sept. 8.
SDG&E ENERGY STORAGE AND MICROGRIDS LOCATION MAP:
