Thursday Night Update: Battery Banks Stabilize, but La Verne Evacuation Remains in Effect
Both battery banks have stabilized, but officials are keeping the evacuation area in place, closing Grace Miller Elementary on Friday and directing affected businesses to remain closed.
Here's what I know about the evacuation in La Verne on Sept. 22. I'll update this story as more information becomes available. You can follow La Verne Daily News on Instagram or Facebook for the latest.
Story updated at 9:46 p.m. Sept. 24
Correction: 9:32 p.m. Sept. 24 La Verne Fire Battalion Chief Mark Savage confirmed that neither battery bank was generating smoke.
Both battery banks involved in the emergency at the F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant had stabilized by Thursday evening, but officials said an ongoing danger required the mandatory evacuation to remain in effect.
In an update posted around 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, the City of La Verne said temperatures at Battery Bank Two had stabilized and firefighters had not needed to apply water for approximately three hours. Neither battery bank was generating smoke, La Verne Fire Battalion Chief Mark Savage confirmed with La Verne Daily News.
In a 9:38 p.m. call with La Verne Daily News, Savage said firefighters and other experts were on scene earlier this evening and removed some panels to access the battery racks in Battery Bank Two. Firefighters have since stopped cooling measures now that doors on one side of the unit are open. The team is going in Thursday night to see what they can do to make some of the batteries safe, Savage said.
Businesses within the evacuation zone must remain closed until officials determine it is safe for people to return. Police officers will continue patrolling the area.
Grace Miller Elementary School will also remain closed Friday, Sept. 25.
About 115 hotel rooms have been secured for evacuees, with a limited number still available. The American Red Cross is also opening an overnight shelter at the Fairplex.
Residents who need lodging or shelter should contact the La Verne Police Department at (909) 596-1913.
Pet Service Solutions, 913 Foothill Blvd. in Upland, is offering discounted boarding rates to families affected by the evacuation. Residents can contact the business at (909) 451-8211.
Air-quality readings continued to remain within normal ranges Thursday evening, according to the City. Officials also said the water supply had not been affected and remained safe.
Savage said another update is likely Friday morning.
Battery Temperatures Spike Again; La Verne Evacuation Expected to Continue For Days
Story updated at 11:57 p.m. Sept. 23
Firefighters continued pouring water on two lithium-ion battery systems at the Metropolitan Water District’s F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant on Wednesday after both units heated up when crews temporarily stopped cooling them.
One section of the battery system that caught fire Tuesday reached approximately 300 degrees during an afternoon temperature check, La Verne Fire Chief Brandon Coatney said during a 4 p.m. news conference Wednesday. The neighboring system, damaged during the initial incident, reached about 112 degrees.
Firefighters resumed continuously spraying water on both systems and were able to control their temperatures, smoke and vapor production, Coatney said.
Officials said the evacuation order affecting approximately 504 homes would remain in place Wednesday night. Coatney said the response and evacuation could continue for days because lithium-ion batteries can keep producing heat until they are fully de-energized.
“I would definitely say it’s going to be days, but to put a specific time on it is very hard to predict with these battery storage banks,” Coatney said.
Staci Baird
The incident began around 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, when one battery system experienced what officials described as a minor explosion followed by a fire. The cause remains under investigation.
The systems entered service in June 2026, and Metropolitan has not decided whether they will return to service.
"A great deal more thought is going to go into whether or not they're even brought back into service in a location like this, an urban environment like this," said Shane Chapman, Metropolitan assistant general manager of water systems operations.
One Metropolitan employee tripped and fell while leaving the area and was taken to a hospital in good condition, according to La Verne Fire Department Battalion Chief and Public Information Officer Mark Savage. No firefighters were injured.
Temperature Increases When Water Stops
Firefighters have used large hose streams to cool the two affected systems continuously, periodically stopping the water to take temperature readings with infrared cameras and drones.
When firefighters stopped the water Wednesday morning, temperatures increased, and crews resumed cooling the systems. They tried again around 3 p.m., but the temperatures rose a second time, Coatney said.
The 300-degree reading in part of the original battery system indicated that some cells had not been consumed by Tuesday’s fire and were still experiencing thermal runaway, a chain reaction in which rising temperatures cause additional battery cells to fail.
Coatney said the systems could reignite and release smoke and hazardous vapors if firefighters stopped cooling them.
The department has large hose streams positioned to respond immediately if the fire grows. A ladder pipe above the systems can spray water in a fog pattern to help capture smoke and vapors, Coatney said.
A specialized mitigation team is expected to evaluate the systems Thursday and help develop a plan to de-energize, dismantle and remove them. The damaged batteries will eventually need to be transported to a hazardous-materials facility for disposal.
Coatney said officials may be able to lift the evacuation order once the systems stop generating heat and releasing hazardous vapors, although work at the site will continue after residents are allowed to return.
Four Battery Systems Installed
Metropolitan has four separate 250-kilowatt lithium-ion battery systems at its La Verne complex, according to information the agency provided by email to La Verne Daily News. Each system is housed independently.
One system was involved in the initial fire, while a nearby system was damaged and is being monitored for possible fire activity. The other two systems are geographically separated and were not affected, Metropolitan said.
Each enclosure is approximately 12 feet long, 8 feet wide and 9 feet tall and contains multiple batteries connected together, Metropolitan's Chapman said.
The systems were installed within the past 18 months and entered service in June 2026. They store electricity generated by solar panels for later use at the treatment plant, officials said.
The systems have fire-detection and fire-suppression equipment, according to Metropolitan. An investigation will determine what caused the failure and whether those systems operated effectively.
Metropolitan said it has emergency response plans and regularly communicates with La Verne Fire Department about the facility. The agency also participates in preparedness exercises with first responders, most recently in June.
“A great deal more thought is going to go into whether or not they’re even brought back into service in a location like this, an urban environment like this,” Chapman said.
Air Monitoring Continues
Los Angeles County Fire Department hazardous-materials personnel detected low levels of gases typically associated with battery fires near the systems as their temperatures increased Wednesday, Capt. Ernie Hernandez said.
However, testing outside the facility near Ancona Drive and Wheeler Avenue did not detect the gases, indicating they were not leaving the property, Hernandez said. "It's just as those temperature spikes, we might see blips in the gas detection."
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is also monitoring the surrounding area. Officials said there was no visible plume Wednesday, although one was observed during Tuesday’s fire.
Coatney said the primary danger to the surrounding community would be a plume of smoke and hazardous vapors if the fire grew beyond firefighters’ ability to control it. The evacuation area accounts for the prevailing winds that could carry a plume through nearby neighborhoods.
Officials are also testing runoff from the water used to cool the batteries. The runoff enters the local storm-drain system and is being monitored by Los Angeles County Health Hazardous Materials personnel, Metropolitan said. Laboratory results were pending Wednesday afternoon.
Metropolitan officials said the treatment plant remained operational and the community’s drinking water supply was not affected.
About 504 Homes Under Evacuation Order
The evacuation zone includes approximately 504 homes, La Verne police Capt. Travis Tibbets said. That is higher than the approximately 200 homes officials estimated Wednesday morning.
The area is bounded generally by Moreno Avenue to the west, Foothill Boulevard to the north, B Street to the east and Paseo Drive, Winterhaven Drive and Kendrick Drive to the south, according to the City.
Police officers spent Wednesday going door to door throughout the evacuation area. Tibbets said no one answered at approximately half the homes officers had visited. About 25% of the residents contacted had left or were preparing to leave, while approximately 20% said they planned to remain.
Tibbets urged residents to follow the evacuation order because officers might not be able to return door to door if smoke or hazardous gases begin moving through the neighborhood.
Residents who need temporary lodging should call the La Verne Police Department’s nonemergency line at (909) 596-1913. The City had secured approximately 90 hotel rooms and had issued about 35 as of Wednesday afternoon, Tibbets said.
The La Verne Community Center on D Street was available as a temporary transition point but was not operating as an overnight shelter.
Police said officers would patrol the evacuated neighborhoods overnight. Tibbets said he had not received any confirmed reports of residential break-ins in the evacuation area.
Grace Miller to Remain Closed Thursday
Grace Miller Elementary School will remain closed Thursday, Sept. 24, because of its proximity to the incident, Tibbets said. The campus is just outside the evacuation-order area.
The school was also closed Wednesday as a precaution. All Wednesday activities were canceled, including School Age Care, school programming and Math Family Night.
Pelota Park is closed to sporting activities while the evacuation order remains in place, Tibbets said.
Hillcrest residents, whose campus is within the broader affected area, were initially directed by Hillcrest officials to shelter in place based on communication with the mayor and City manager. Hillcrest returned to normal operations Wednesday but continued recommending that residents wear masks outdoors and keep exterior doors and windows closed while the incident remained active.
Residents can check the Genasys Protect evacuation map, the City’s website and the La Verne fire and police departments’ social media accounts for updates.
Story updated at 1:16 p.m. Sept. 23
Wednesday Afternoon Update: Second Battery Unit Heats Up as Evacuation Order Remains in Place
Firefighters continued cooling a second lithium-ion battery storage system Wednesday morning after its temperature rose by about 20 degrees, while an evacuation order remained in effect for roughly 200 homes near the Metropolitan Water District’s F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant.
The first battery system was damaged by a minor explosion shortly before a fire broke out Tuesday, Sept. 22, La Verne Fire Chief Brandon Coatney said during a Wednesday morning news conference. Firefighters cooled the system and brought it to a stable condition.
Later testing showed a neighboring battery system was also damaged and heating up. Its temperature stayed between about 60 and 70 degrees overnight before rising to about 90 degrees Wednesday morning, Coatney said.
Firefighters resumed continuously spraying water on the second unit to control its temperature. Crews are using drones and infrared equipment to monitor both systems.
Officials said individual battery cells could experience small explosions as they enter thermal runaway, a process in which increasing heat causes additional battery cells to fail. However, the second system’s enclosure was damaged enough that hazardous gases cannot build up and cause a larger explosion, Coatney explained.
The primary concern now is the potential release of hazardous gases or vapors if conditions change, not the possibility of an explosion affecting the surrounding neighborhood, Coatney said.
“Our goal is, with those cooling measures that we have going on right now, to keep that plume so that we don’t have those hazardous atmospheres going into the community,” Coatney said.
No visible plume was coming from the facility Wednesday morning. A plume was observed Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials personnel began testing the air within about 45 minutes of the incident, Capt. Ernie Hernandez said. Monitoring has not detected hazardous battery-related substances in the air, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District is conducting additional monitoring throughout the community.
Water runoff from the firefighting operation has also been collected and sent to a laboratory for testing. Metropolitan officials said the plant’s operations and the community’s drinking water supply have not been affected.
The facility’s two battery storage systems collect power generated by solar panels and help meet the treatment plant’s energy needs while reducing demand on the electrical grid, said Shane Chapman, Metropolitan assistant general manager of water systems operations. The cause of the equipment failure remains under investigation.
Metropolitan has reduced staffing at the facility from approximately 350 employees to essential personnel while the emergency response continues.
The evacuation zone is bounded by Moreno Avenue to the west, Foothill Boulevard to the north and B Street to the east. Its southern boundaries include Paseo Drive, Winterhaven Drive and Kendrick Drive, according to the City.
Residents within the zone must remain evacuated until the order is lifted. Limited access is being provided to residents who need to retrieve essential belongings.
La Verne police officers and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were conducting door-to-door checks Wednesday to determine who had evacuated and who remained inside the zone. Police Capt. Travis Tibbets estimated that the area includes about 200 homes.
Residents within the evacuation area who need shelter assistance may call the La Verne Police Department at (909) 596-1913.
Grace Miller Elementary School, located just outside the evacuation zone, is closed Wednesday as a precaution. Officials said evacuating the campus quickly could be difficult if the affected area expanded. Other La Verne schools remained open Wednesday morning.
All activities at Grace Miller are canceled, including School Age Care, school programming and Math Family Night. Families will receive an update through ParentSquare about Thursday’s operations.
Officials said the evacuation order will remain in place while firefighters continue cooling and monitoring the second battery system. Residents can view the current boundaries and emergency instructions on the Genasys Protect evacuation map.
Story updated at 8:39 a.m. Sept. 23
Wednesday Morning Update: Grace Miller Closed as Evacuation Order Remains in Effect
Grace Miller Elementary School is closed Wednesday, Sept. 23, as firefighters continue monitoring a second battery storage unit at the Metropolitan Water District facility.
La Verne Fire Department Battalion Chief and Public Information Officer Mark Savage told La Verne Daily News that the temperature of the second unit, which was exposed to heat during Tuesday’s fire, rose 20 degrees within an hour Wednesday morning.
The Fire Department is planning a news conference for 9:30 a.m. at Fire Station 1, 2061 3rd St. on Wednesday.
The mandatory evacuation order near the facility remains in effect Savage confirmed this morning. Residents should check the Genasys Protect evacuation map for current evacuation boundaries and instructions.
Bonita Unified School District confirmed Grace Miller would remain closed.
All activities at the school are canceled, including School Age Care, school programming and Math Family Night, according to a message Principal Sandoval sent to families. Sandoval said the school was closed “out of an abundance of caution” following consultations with the Fire Department, City officials and district leaders.
The district will continue monitoring the incident and plans to update families through ParentSquare about Thursday’s school operations.
The University of La Verne is open and classes are running as scheduled, according to University communications.
Story updated at 9:05 p.m. Sept. 22
Firefighters Monitoring Second Battery Unit Overnight
La Verne firefighters will remain at the Metropolitan Water District facility overnight after a second battery storage unit exposed to heat began making popping sounds and releasing puffs of smoke, La Verne Fire Department Battalion Chief and Public Information Officer Mark Savage said Tuesday evening.
The fire in the original battery energy storage unit has been "squelched," Savage said. However, firefighters are continuing to monitor its temperature because lithium batteries can reignite.
The burning unit exploded as firefighters arrived, blowing off some of its doors, Savage said. No firefighters were injured.
One Metropolitan employee was injured after tripping and falling while fleeing the area. The employee was evaluated, treated and taken to a hospital in good condition, Savage said.
A second battery storage unit, located about 10 feet from the first, was exposed to flames or radiant heat during the fire. Around 4 p.m., firefighters temporarily stopped spraying water as they evaluated conditions and heard popping sounds coming from the second unit. They also saw puffs of smoke, Savage said.
Firefighters are using a drone to monitor the unit’s temperature and will continue cooling it if necessary. Because entering or dismantling the unit could expose firefighters to an explosion, crews must wait to see whether it develops a thermal runaway—a chain reaction in which rising temperatures cause battery cells to ignite.
“We just don’t know, and there’s no way to know whether that’s going to react to that heat that it was exposed to,” Savage said.
The remaining evacuation order will not be lifted Tuesday night while crews determine whether the second unit poses a danger, Savage said. The evacuation area was reduced earlier Tuesday to the immediate area surrounding the facility.
The order includes the 186-unit La Verne Mobile Country Club and nearby single-family homes, Savage said. Some residents have returned despite the continuing order.
If the second unit ignites, firefighters plan to use large hose streams and a fog pattern to suppress smoke and particles. Authorities would also send additional evacuation alerts through the Genasys Protect mobile app and use other notification methods, including door-to-door notifications if necessary.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District and Los Angeles County Fire Department hazardous materials personnel remained at the scene Tuesday evening to monitor the air and water runoff. Savage said residents would be notified if additional evacuations or shelter-in-place instructions become necessary.
Savage could not estimate how long the battery units would need to be monitored but said crews would remain at the facility throughout the night.
Story published Sept. 22
Lithium Battery Fire Prompts Evacuations in the City of La Verne Tuesday
A lithium battery fire at a Metropolitan Water District facility prompted evacuations and shelter-in-place orders in La Verne on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 22, according to La Verne Fire Chief Brandon Coatney.
The fire occurred in a battery energy storage system near a solar panel field on the northeast side of the facility, which also houses the F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant.
Metropolitan said the fire did not affect the safety of the region’s water supply.
“We are supporting our first responders as they take the appropriate steps to help ensure the health and safety of residents, employees and others in the affected area,” the agency said in a statement emailed to La Verne Daily News.
Initial evacuation notices covered zones LVN-E009, LVN-E010, LVN-E011 and LVN-E012. Residents near Wheeler and Bonita avenues were ordered to evacuate, while residents east of Wheeler Avenue were instructed to shelter in place and close their doors and windows.
Around 3:04 p.m., the La Verne Police Department announced that all affected streets except Wheeler Avenue were reopening. Drivers were asked to continue avoiding Wheeler Avenue between Foothill Boulevard and Bonita Avenue while emergency crews worked.
As of 3:33 p.m., the Genasys Protect evacuation map showed three active areas: one under an evacuation order, one under an evacuation warning and one under an evacuation advisory. Residents should check the map directly for their address and the latest instructions.
As of 3:56 p.m. Tuesday, the City of La Verne posted on social media that evacuations had been lifted, with the exception of the area between Foothill and Moreno and B Street south to Kendrick. The Commons at La Verne shopping center, 1600 Foothill Blvd. (where Vons is located) and all other businesses on the south side of Foothill from Moreno to Chelsea remain closed.
Bonita Unified School District notified families around 1:22 p.m. that it was monitoring the incident near Grace Miller Elementary School. Tuesday was a compact day at the school, and students were being picked up by their parents or guardians.
The district canceled all after-school enrichment classes at Grace Miller. Students enrolled in School Age Care were taken by bus to Ekstrand Elementary School for pickup.
Bonita High School sheltered in place and did not leave until school was dismissed at 3:30, according to a sophomore who was on campus Tuesday. The student described seeing "thick smoke" and smelling a "metallic smell."
The University of La Verne campus also closed Tuesday afternoon, and classes were canceled until further notice, according to an email sent to students.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said her office was in contact with the City to determine whether residents or emergency crews needed additional support. She urged residents to take the incident seriously, follow instructions from local authorities and stay away from emergency operations.
Residents can follow the La Verne Police Department, La Verne Fire Department and La Verne Local for additional updates.
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