Monterey County supervisors on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in response to last week's major fire at the Vistra lithium battery plant in Moss Landing.

Nickel, cobalt and manganese, found in lithium-ion batteries, increased dramatically at Elkhorn Slough after the fire.

State regulators want more control over how battery storage facilities operate as SJSU researchers have found a large amount of heavy metals in the soil following the Moss Landing Power Plant fire.

These are very disturbing numbers,” said County of Monterey Supervisor Glenn Church. “… We’re in uncharted territory.”

Vistra responds to San Jose State's finding of a heavy metal spike in soils near their Moss Landing battery storage facility.

Monterey County residents near a Moss Landing power plant were ordered to evacuate Thursday night after a fire broke out at the facility.

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals have been detected at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve by scientists from San Jose State University.

Brian Hackney reports on the environmental impacts of the fire that happened at a Northern California lithium battery plant. Website: YouTube: Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: