Electric vehicle batteries and other lithium-ion batteries are affecting the wildfire cleanup in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. 

Newsom highlighted the elongated days ahead for the state as experts will need to handle dangerous debris. It is expected to take up to nine months to remove the debris, Newsom said. 

“It’s a little different world now today, with batteries - not just car batteries, but battery packs, people with solar, those Tesla wall batteries and the like,” Newsom said in an interview with CNN. 

The prevalence of electric vehicles in California brings upon a challenge for those removing the debris, Conrad Layson, senior analyst at AutoForecast Solutions said. 

As of May, California represented a significant portion, accounting for 34 percent of all new zero-emission vehicle sales in the United States., the California Air Resources Board said. 

Tesla batteries include numerous components that include different materials, which results in the recycling process being intricate and potentially hazardous, according to Recycle Technologies. 

The hazardous component comes from the fact that Lithium-ion batteries are susceptible to thermal runway. This further leads to fires or explosions if handled incorrectly, this greatly impacts the recycling process, Recycle Technologies said. 

In addition to the inherent fire risk, those tasked to remove debris can be faced with the dangers of smoke inhalation as well as external chemical burns from hydrofluoric acid, Automotive News said. 

“The disposal of a burned-out EV is not as straightforward as it is for current ICE vehicles, especially one that’s already been involved in an ignition event,” Layson said. 

The U.S. Fire Administration additionally warns that batteries can be further ejected from a battery pack. They mentioned that departments should “establish partnerships with EV manufacturers and industry experts for more informed and effective firefighting techniques.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it is working on a proposal for worldwide waste standards that are meant specifically for lithium batteries.

Some vehicle recyclers separate EVs and place them on sand to prevent the leaching of chemicals or an ignition domino effect, Automotive News said.