Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors discuss the aftermath of the Moss Landing fire nearly two weeks later
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors received a report by Vistra Energy outlining the response and recovery efforts on the heels of the Moss Landing power plant fire.
County officials say that Santa Cruz was primarily impacted by smoke blowing into the area immediately following the fire.
A representative from Vistra Energy, Brad Watson, explained that the company will soon remove any batteries that remain on location.
"Our next step in this process will be to safely remove the remaining batteries from the building when conditions permit," said Watson. "We have retained a structural engineering firm to advise us with this work and planning is currently underway.”
The company is also unsure about the future of the site, but is mentioning that ongoing resources will be available for people recovering after the fire.
“The Community Foundation, along with its partners at United Way Monterey County and the Castro Plaza Family Resource Center, will provide gift cards funded by Vistra to households within the evacuation area," said Watson.
Despite Vistra saying that the surrounding air is safe to breath, some neighbors disagree.
“We were supposed to be sheltering in place," said a nearby resident of Moss Landing, Keith McHenry. "But then I got an email that it was all safe, so I opened the front door of my house and my eyes started burning. I've had metal taste in my tongue ever since. It wasn't really, didn't seem that safe.”
Santa Cruz County and Vistra Energy say they are reviewing the soil test results released by San Jose State University Monday.