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Residents urge pause on battery storage project over fire, health and evacuation concerns

Skagit County Board of Commissioners · January 20, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Multiple residents urged Skagit County commissioners to halt a proposed battery energy storage system, raising questions about thermal runaway, firefighting capacity, toxic plumes, and whether state-level review processes remove local control; speakers called for moratoriums and clearer emergency plans.

Several residents used the public-comment period to press the county about a proposed battery energy storage facility in Skagit County, raising safety, health and governance concerns.

Elka McCartney of Anacortes said she had submitted multiple earlier comments and focused on fire prevention and emergency response. "What plan does the storage system company and the county have for the likelihood of a thermal runaway prevent this…

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