Monterey County residents near Moss Landing were told late Tuesday to close their windows and doors overnight after a fire broke out at the Vistra Energy lithium-ion battery storage facility near the Moss Landing Harbor.

Crews have begun work on the first step of a long process in cleaning up the wreckage of the Moss Landing battery storage plant after a huge fire last month drew national attention and raised questions about the safety of a new technology needed to continue California’s expansion of renewable energy.

The first fire revived fears in Morro Bay about the dangers of battery energy storage facilities, and the Morro Bay City Council temporarily blocked the approval of new permits for any such project.

The fire at the Vistra Corp. lithium-ion battery storage facility in Moss Landing flared again late Tuesday afternoon but has since died down, a North Monterey County fire chief told Lookout on Thursday.

A lawsuit was filed Thursday in response to the impacts of the Jan. 16 fire at Vistra's Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage Facility. Attorneys for Kim and Luis Solano, owners of The Haute Enchilada in Moss Landing, filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Texas-based Vistra Corporation and other parties.

An attorney representing Haute Enchilada, Café, Gallery & Social Club says since the battery facility fires, the private club's business has dropped 50% of what it typically expects for this time of year.