Lithium-Ion Batteries, Melted EVs Create New Hazards in SoCal Fire Zones

Federal crews are tasked with cleaning up a large number of electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries left behind in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires.

The devastation of the Palisades Fire is seen at sunset in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 14. Ethan Swope/AP Photo

This month’s deadly and destructive Los Angeles fires that claimed 28 lives burned with such intensity that electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries melted to the ground, creating hazardous conditions as residents began returning to their communities Jan. 28.

Specialists with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were leading the large-scale cleanup of the batteries Tuesday.