Before homeowners start rebuilding, the Environmental Protection Agency is focused on removing all lithium-ion batteries from Palisades burn sites. Jonathan Gonzalez reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on February 7th, 2025.
Lithium-ion batteries are posing a hidden danger in the communities ravaged by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Chris Myers, the co-chair of the Environmental Protection Agency Lithium Ion Battery Emergency Response Task Force, is leading multiple teams in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena to find, collect and dispose of these batteries properly.
“We have batteries at every single one of the properties,” Myers said. “I have four on me right now, with my two cell phones and AirPods. Batteries are a way of life.”
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Before homeowners begin to rebuild, the EPA is focused on removing all lithium-ion sources from burn sites, especially batteries found in electric vehicles or battery banks for solar panel systems.
“We don't want uncontrolled batteries that may be dangerous to exist up at the sites,” Myers said.
Lithium-ion batteries have the potential of catching fire at a temperature of up to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit, making it difficult, if not impossible, for firefighters to put out the flames.
“Well, when you have thousands of batteries packed tightly together, one operating at that temperature will damage ones next to it, and so on,” Myers said. “That's called a cascading thermal runaway event.”
Crews in Pacific Palisades are bringing the lithium-ion batteries to a site along Pacific Coast Highway, near Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
At the site, they soak the batteries in a specialized liquid before physically destroying them.
“So we brine them down, crush them, render them safe,” Myers said “So, they're no longer a battery. They no longer have any way to hold charge, right? We have mechanically eliminated that potential.”
Myers said that the process is safe for the public
“Every time we touch these things, right, every time we remove them from the field, we have it decrease the potential for human health impact,” he said.
The Los Angeles County wildfire debris removal process is currently in Phase 1, which involves clearing hazardous materials from properties by the EPA. Once the EPA finishes its work and the property is considered safe, the Corps of Engineers can remove the debris from properties whose owners opt-in to the free removal program under Phase 2. Residents also can also opt out of the program and hire their own contractors.
