La Verne council ratifies local emergency over MWD battery fire

The La Verne City Council voted unanimously on September 29, 2026 to approve a local emergency declaration over the September 22 lithium-ion battery fire at the Metropolitan Water District's F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant, CBS Los Angeles reported. The special-meeting agenda packet lists two action items: a resolution ratifying the proclamation City Manager Ken Domer issued on September 25 and an incident update. Per the agenda, the council had to ratify within seven days under the municipal code or the proclamation "shall have no further force or effect"; the ratification report and the proclamation cite state law for the same deadline. The resolution says the emergency continues until the council proclaims its termination and, per the ratification report and the proclamation, must be reviewed and terminated at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.

Three of the packet's documents count the evacuation differently. The resolution's recitals put approximately 500 residences under evacuation orders and approximately 28 businesses closed or affected; the proclamation says over 500 residences and 28 businesses were subject to mandatory evacuation orders; the incident-update report says orders were lifted for over 500 residences and approximately 30 businesses along Foothill Boulevard; and per CBS, city leaders told the meeting approximately 500 homes and nearly 30 businesses were in the area. The incident-update report says the investigation into the cause "is ongoing and expected to be a lengthy and thorough process." The city's bulletin said on September 25 a formal investigation would begin once the materials are removed; an undated block says the investigation is ongoing and results are expected to take several months, and the bulletin's air-quality block, stamped 8:30 PM September 29, says MWD's contractor continues monitoring "as the affected battery modules remain isolated and prepared for removal."

Per CBS, asked whether other similar battery storage sites exist in the city, fire officials said there were and would make a list of the locations available. A Metropolitan spokesperson told the meeting something went terribly wrong and the district needs to do better, and Mayor Tim Hepburn said the first priority is starting the claims process, per CBS.

The bulletin says the incident involved two 250-kilowatt (kW vs kWh) battery units installed to support a 2-megawatt solar farm, and that two additional packs remain on site, not impacted and turned off, which MWD does not anticipate returning to operation in the foreseeable future. The Claremont Courier reported on September 25 that MWD assistant general manager John Bednarski said the facility's four sections "each generate about 250 kilowatts of energy." The Duck Curve's September 25 coverage reported the fire and read SB 38's plan requirement as not reaching a public water agency's generation on the face of its text.