Drone footage shows fire at one of world's largest battery plants

A fire has broken out at a Californian power plant housing one of the largest battery energy storage facilities in the world.

The blaze began in a building containing lithium-ion batteries on Thursday afternoon, an official at the Monterey County Sheriff's office said.

The Moss Landing power plant, run by Vistra Corp, was evacuated, as were people in the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.

Officials are not actively fighting the fire, the Monterey Sheriff spokesperson said, and are instead leaving the building and the batteries to burn on the advice of fire experts.