MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KRON) -- One of the world's biggest battery plants is located in a tiny harbor town perched halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey. A fire ignited January 16 inside the Moss Landing Power Plant where thousands of lithium batteries store power from renewable energy. By Monday, emergency officials in Moss Landing said they were still waiting for the battery fire to "burn itself out." Flareups continued igniting for days, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky while North Monterey County and Watsonville residents wondered if they were breathing toxic fumes. Moss Landing is an environmentally sensitive area that's home to sea otters and harbor seals swimming through the area's unique sloughs. The harbor town is beloved by surfers, kayakers, fishermen, marine wildlife photographers, and ocean researchers. A sea otter rests on a beach in Moss Landing, Calif. (Photo by Dan Sedenquist / DFS Photography) Alarmed local residents and wildlife enthusiasts wondered why the fire burned for days without firefighters attempting to put it out. Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said, "After thorough discussions with our local fire officials, it is clear that there is no proven way to put out one of these fires once it has reached this magnitude. Attempts to put out battery fires at other sites have only worsened the situation. Water is used initially only when the batteries start to heat, not when flames have emerged. I find the lack of a proven system to extinguish the fires highly alarming." The Moss Landing Power Plant is seen on Jan. 17, 2022. (Photographer: David Paul Morris /Bloomberg via Getty Images) North Monterey County Fire Protection District Fire Chief Joel Mendoza said flareups caused "high-intensity fires. This is normal for lithium-ion battery fires. We knew it was going to happen." Mendoza said 80 percent of batteries stored in the burned building were destroyed by fire. "We thought the entire building was going to burn. Now we have that one section that hasn't burned," Mendoza explained. A fire erupted at Moss Landing Power Plant on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images) Mendoza said fire investigators can't approach the building until Vistra Energy's engineers assess the site and determine if it is safe to enter. Firefighters are most concerned about the 20 percent of batteries that did not catch fire. For decades, Moss Landing's horizon has been dominated by two towering smoke stacks rising above the power plant. Pacific Gas & Electric built the plant in 1950 and sold it in 2006. The plant underwent major changes in 2020 when Vistra Energy opened a large-scale battery project. At the time, the changes were approved by local officials without controversy. Church wrote, "Both battery storage facilities initially passed the county permit process, including public hearings, with little to no opposition. Vistra got its first permit in 2020. It was approved by the Planning Commission and never appealed to the Board of Supervisors. It was that uncontroversial at the time. That would not be the case now." A project manager looks over the battery array at the Moss Landing Power Plant on January 13, 2021. . (Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) Experts say lithium batteries are a safe technology essential for lowering carbon emissions and making grids more reliable. Batteries soak up excess wind and solar energy for later use and avoid blackouts. Cheaper lithium has made utility-scale batteries more cost-competitive than some natural gas alternatives. Batteries can also be switched on and discharge power in a matter of seconds. Since the fire erupted five days ago, North Monterey County residents began organizing campaigns calling for independent environmental testing. Birds flock along the shoreline of Moss Landing, Calif. (Photo by Dan Sedenquist / DFS Photography) Church cautioned that more fires could ignite at the plant this week. "I am hopeful the fire will not erupt again, but that is always possible. There remain heat pockets in the Vistra building where the fire originated. There are still unburned batteries in the building and it is possible for another battery to overheat into a thermal runaway. It will take days for things to cool down to a safe level." Monterey Bay Area Air Resource District officials are currently monitoring for smoke pollutants, while federal Environmental Protection Agency officials are on-site monitoring for hazardous chemicals. A Vistra spokesperson told KRON4 last week that the fire burned its 300-MW Phase I energy storage facility. "Our top priority is the safety of the community and our personnel, and Vistra deeply appreciates the continued assistance of our local emergency responders," the spokesperson wrote. Flames erupt at the Moss Landing Power Plant Thursday Jan. 16, 2025 in Moss Landing, Calif. (Shmuel Thaler /The Santa Cruz Sentinel via AP) Some locals officials are demanding that the plant halt operations until fire investigators can determine what caused the accidental inferno and stronger safety protocols are put in place. Church said, "There are powerful interests of many types far beyond Monterey County that see accidents of this nature acceptable. I will also pursue every means possible to keep the operations at Moss Landing from going back online. The industry needs to better understand its technology before putting communities in harm’s way." Monterey County Department of Emergency Management officials' most recent update on the incident states, "Emergency personnel at the Moss Landing Vistra fire continue to monitor and evaluate the fire. It remains unknown how long the fire will last as first responders continue to evaluate the impacted building as the fire continue to burn itself out." The Associated Press contributed to this report.