The Are Still Some Unresolved Issues Concerning Electric Cars

On Wednesday, Breitbart posted an article about a recent fire in California. Most of us at one point or another have seen a car fire on the side of the road. The fire department shows up, a lot of water is used, the fire is out, and everyone goes home. However, this recent fire in California involved an electric car. That makes a difference.

The article reports:

A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery Storage facility in Monterey County, California. A shelter-in-place advisory was in place for 12 hours due to fears of toxic smoke from the fire caused by Elon Musk’s battery system, with county officials announcing that even though the fire was “fully controlled” by 7:00 p.m. PT, “smoke may still occur in the area for several days.”

KSBW Action News 8 reports that a Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at the local utility company PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery Storage facility in Monterey County, California. The fire reported started at around 1:30 a.m. on September 20 according to the comm manager for PG&E, Jeff Smith. No injuries were reported at the time.

I think it may be time to widen our focus regarding green energy. Rather than simply looking at the pollution coming out of the exhaust pipe of a standard car or truck engine, maybe we should look at what goes into the manufacturing of a standard car or truck engine versus an electric car engine and also the consequences of an accident or fire involving those engines.

The article reports:

Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, North County Fire Protection District, and Pacific Gas & Electric had all issued a shelter-in-place advisory for nearby areas, including an interactive map showing which areas are affected and closing roads for over 12 hours.

Local residents were told to shut all windows and turn off ventilation systems due to the hazardous waste material that may have entered the atmosphere due to the Tesla Megapack fire.

A section of Highway 1 was confirmed to have been closed by Caltrans as fire crews were deployed to take control of the blaze. The California Highway Patrol tweeted at 4:29 PM that the closure was extended due to concerns about air quality in the area.

It is time to re-examine the push toward electric cars.