On Friday's Erin Burnett OutFront, the show played a report by correspondent Natasha Chen in which she informed viewers of the difficulties caused by electric cars during the Los Angeles wildfires.
It turns out that the batteries used by electric cars have their own environmental consequences when they catch fire, creating hazardous pollution and a blaze that is much more difficult to extinguish than in gas-powered cars.
Host Erin Burnett recalled the air pollution she has experienced visiting the site as she set up the report:
And while the flames in the actual neighborhoods are now contained, the air is toxic. I can tell you, when we stood amongst that charred rubble, it's a smell that stays with you. And one of the reasons is the sheer numbers -- well, just all the nastiness that burned, but the number of cars that caught fire. Specifically, you could see all these electric vehicles that could have been burning far longer than a gas-powered car because of the batteries.
Chen began her pre-recorded piece:
Scattered amongst the ruins of California's devastating wildfires sit countless Teslas and other electric vehicles, most left behind by owners forced to flee from the fast-moving flames. The charred EVs are a grim reminder of a new frontier facing firefighters and residents when battling wildfires and the daunting environmental challenges in cleaning up some of the remains.
After a clip of Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) speaking with CNN's Kyung Lah and admitting that the electric cars create additional problems that must be dealt with, Chen recalled that California has a higher proportion of residents who drive electric cars, and then was seen speaking with EPA official Robert Rezende to fill viewers in on some of the problems:
CHEN: San Diego fire battalion chief Robert Rezende is a member of the EPA's Lithium-ion Battery Taskforce. He says the surge in batteries in homes and in EVs creates a new layer of complexity in firefighting.
REZENDE: As the batteries start to burn, they actually release flammable gases like hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and then they also release their own oxygen, and so smothering the fire doesn't really work in these situations. Putting a bunch of water on them doesn't really work in these situations.
CHEN: Rezende says a normal gas-powered car fire can be managed in five to fifteen minutes, but putting out an EV fire could take two to twelve hours.
Their back and forth continued:
REZENDE: So the battery just kind of has to run its course, and its chemistry needs to be consumed before it will stop being on fire.
CHEN: If there is a vehicle that's burned out right now in one of these wildfire zones in L.A. that was an EV, is it possible that, if the battery is intact, it could still reignite?
REZENDE: Yes.
CHEN: Because of reignition, he says it could take a swimming pool's worth of water to fully extinguish an EV battery fire.
CNN's willingness to give negative publicity to electric cars which are usually promoted by liberals may have been motivated by the fact that Trump ally Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla, and CNN then got to invoking Musk's criticism of Democrats over the fires:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been hypercritical of the state's response to the wildfire, claiming that "the immense loss of homes in L.A." is a result of "overregulation" and "bad governance" in the state. Musk even wrote that "it's over for Gavin" when reposting a Truth Social message from President-elect Donald Trump calling for Newsom to resign.
The CNN reporter went on to inform viewers that Musk has made substantial contributions to efforts to deal with fires in California.
Transcript follows:
CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront
January 17, 2025
7:56 p.m. Eastern
ERIN BURNETT: And while the flames in the actual neighborhoods are now contained, the air is toxic. I can tell you, when we stood amongst that charred rubble, it's a smell that stays with you. And one of the reasons is the sheer numbers -- well, just all the nastiness that burned, but the number of cars that caught fire. Specifically, you could see all these electric vehicles that could have been burning far longer than a gas-powered car because of the batteries. Natasha Chen is out front.
NATASHA CHEN: Scattered amongst the ruins of California's devastating wildfires sit countless Teslas and other electric vehicles, most left behind by owners forced to flee from the fast-moving flames. The charred EVs are a grim reminder of a new frontier facing firefighters and residents when battling wildfires and the daunting environmental challenges in cleaning up some of the remains.
GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We're in a little bit of a different world now today with batteries -- not just car batteries but battery packs, people with solar -- those Tesla wall batteries. So the hazmat side of this has been made a little bit more complicated.
CHEN: Just last month, the EPA approved the state's ambitious plan to end the sale of new gas-operated vehicles by 2035. California has seen a surge in electric vehicles over the last decade. There were more than 3,000 EVs per 100,000 residents in California in 2023, the highest per capita of any state in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy.
CHIEF ROB REZENDE, SAN DIEGO FIRE DEPARTMENT: Twenty, thirty years ago, when these things were not present in these fires, you didn't have to think about that.
CHEN: San Diego fire battalion chief Robert Rezende is a member of the EPA's Lithium-ion Battery Taskforce. He says the surge in batteries in homes and in EVs creates a new layer of complexity in firefighting.
REZENDE: As the batteries start to burn, they actually release flammable gases like hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and then they also release their own oxygen, and so smothering the fire doesn't really work in these situations. Putting a bunch of water on them doesn't really work in these situations.
CHEN: Rezende says a normal gas-powered car fire can be managed in five to fifteen minutes, but putting out an EV fire could take two to twelve hours.
REZENDE: So the battery just kind of has to run its course, and its chemistry needs to be consumed before it will stop being on fire.
CHEN: If there is a vehicle that's burned out right now in one of these wildfire zones in L.A. that was an EV, is it possible that, if the battery is intact, it could still reignite?
REZENDE: Yes.
CHEN: Because of reignition, he says it could take a swimming pool's worth of water to fully extinguish an EV battery fire. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been hypercritical of the state's response to the wildfire, claiming that "the immense loss of homes in L.A." is a result of "overregulation" and "bad governance" in the state. Musk even wrote that "it's over for Gavin" when reposting a Truth Social message from President-elect Donald Trump calling for Newsom to resign. But with Tesla selling more electric cars in the California market than anywhere else in the nation, Musk has also been providing resources to assist in recovery efforts, positioning Starling-equipped cyber trucks and free Wi-Fi in areas of need, and providing helpful resources to first-responders.
REZENDE: Tesla has -- they have also developed some video training for first responders, so we share those with our fire department.
CHEN: Rezende says that he's in conversations with the EPA about their initial plans to come through and clean up hazardous waste in the burned areas, including all the batteries that you find in home products and electric vehicles. And that process could take a very long time, so if people are allowed to come back to properties in the near future, he said, "Just be aware that it may not be 100 percent cleared, wear a mask, and be careful where you walk," Erin.
