One of the world's largest battery storage facilities is being consumed by flames near San Francisco on Friday, and officials say the best solution is to let the factory continue to burn, even as it releases toxic fumes into the air.

People living near a power plant in Central California were ordered to evacuate their homes Thursday night after a fire broke out at the facility, officials said.

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

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,

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.

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.