Between three and six months: that’s how long it will take to first dispose of the hazardous waste left behind in the Los Angeles fires, according to a US Environmental Protection Agency official (CNN, January 16 2025). In the area concerned – more than 150 square kilometers – clearing non-harmful debris should then require several additional months.
Among the most problematic substances are various products stored in homes and garages, such as paint, gasoline, cleaning products, pesticides and even compressed gas cylinders – which can explode. But also, electric vehicle batteries as well as charging installations.
However, the region had more than 431,000 Teslas in service in October 2024, according to data from S&P Global Mobility consulted by our colleagues at Bloomberg this Friday, January 17.
Batteries that burn for a long time
Based on new registrations, the local market share of Elon Musk’s brand was three times that of the rest of the country, with the Model Y having been the best-selling vehicle in the state until September. according to the California New Car Dealers Association.
“Many cars in the evacuation zone were equipped with batteries au lithium“Jacqui Irwin, a representative of Pacific Palisades, one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, told Bloomberg. “Firefighters told us that these lithium batteries burn much longer near homes, especially those with a power wall.”
-“The state has seen other fires, but never anything this urban, with so many neighborhoods and structures where you would expect to see more electric vehicles and other energy storage systems”confirmed with our colleagues Robert Rezende, San Diego firefighter, specialist in the risks linked to lithium batteries: “We expect a big gap.”
Chain reaction
The authorities have also recognized the specificities of the situation. In an executive order issued this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom says the state “still adapting to new technologies” such as lithium-ion batteries, which may present particular risks when exposed to the heat of fires.
“This will be one of the biggest cleanups for lithium-ion batteries”a US Environmental Protection Agency official told CNN. In the event of exposure to fire, a chain reaction can indeed persist inside the battery, which later causes it to ignite again. Hence the need to treat this waste “like unexploded ordnance”.
In Malibu, a city also affected by the fires, Mayor Doug Stewart fears that toxins from burned houses – asbestos, lead, mercury, heavy metals, etc. – will pollute the beaches and the ocean when the rains start to fall. “We have a responsibility towards the environment”he told Bloomberg.
