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. […]
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