A fire at the world’s largest battery storage plant in Northern California is smoldering after sending plumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere.

The blaze broke out late Thursday at the Monterey County plant that stores and sells power to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Officials estimated that about 40% of the battery storage building had burned by late Thursday night. Chief Joel Mendoza of the North County Fire Protection District said the fire had slowed significantly by Friday morning, burning at just 1% to 5% of the intensity seen the night before, CBS News reported.

The massive fire at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage plants in Northern California has shaken a local community worried about possible long-term impacts and brought scrutiny to the emerging industry's safety practices.

Monterey County officials ordered evacuations after Vistra's battery facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant caught fire Thursday.

Evacuations were lifted Friday night for people near an ongoing fire that erupted Thursday at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in the northern half of California. Video circulating on social media showed smoke and flames erupting from the Moss Landing Power Plant on Thursday night in the Monterey County community of Moss Landing,

A fire at a major battery-storage plant in Northern California prompted the evacuation of hundreds of nearby residents and the closure of schools and parts of Highway 1 nearby. Residents of the area around the Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County were evacuated late Thursday after the fire broke out.