Overview
- The lithium‑ion battery unit ignited around 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Metropolitan Water District facility on Wheeler Avenue, producing a small explosion and a hazardous blaze.
- Authorities issued evacuations and shelter‑in‑place orders for nearby neighborhoods and schools, and an evacuation center opened at the La Verne Community Center.
- La Verne and Los Angeles County fire crews and specialized hazmat teams sprayed the area with water and said the blaze was largely under control by evening while crews remained on scene overnight to watch for flare‑ups.
- The Metropolitan Water District said its water supply was not affected, officials have not identified a cause, and reports about injuries are conflicting with one report of a civilian taken to a hospital and other accounts saying no injuries were reported.
- Lithium‑ion fires can enter thermal runaway and emit gases such as hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen chloride, which can burn for hours or days and complicate firefighting and local emergency planning around critical infrastructure.