So, let me start by offering my condolences to Hopper, who indeed do appeared to have worked hard this past year to resolve long standing product and company performance issues. I am very grateful and happy that nobody was hurt. To me, that is first and foremost. Fuck stuff...it can be replaced. People...eh, not so much.
I did get the email as I have just received four batteries, one of which they replaced because it was flaky to recharge...showed as an open but if fiddled about a bit you could get it to charge to a limited extent. I was happy with their response of just sending me out another one.
But there is much to this that doesn't make a great deal of sense to me but I try (emphasis on "try") to be fact based and not buy into conspiracy theories (like its an insurance scam) before any valid evidence. Right now, its all in the wind to me.
But, who the hell would insure a manufacturing facility that does not have fire detection (and I don't just mean a locally audible alarm) and suppression system? Remember, they had their own board stuffing machines which says to me that they also had wave soldering capability. I can't imagine anybody stupid enough to allow this without fire suppression. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time thinking that Boulder code doesn't absolutely require remote alarm detection (to a monitoring center...like ADT, right) and active suppression
I note that someone above referenced them saying it was a "smoldering" fire....but it was hot enough in there to destroy manf equipment, RMA GHs, etc. If it was that hot, then it was hot enough to set off alarms and suppression if such was present at all.
@biohacker , any views on this as a fireman?
I don't know, but smoldering often means a lack of oxygen which is resolved sometimes explosively by opening a door. I'm glad nobody got hurt during this incident.
Also, the battery thing makes little sense to me. They say that the fire dept's initial finding was "an electrical issue in the building" was the source of the fire. That does not sound like batteries spontaneously catching fire or blowing up.
If it was the Li batteries, of which I would presume that they had a ton of after receipt of their long delayed shipment, I should think this would be very apparent. But that seems to not be the case.
But they are nonethless telling us, after a VERY long back order wait for batteries, to toss them. Hence, we may as well toss our GHs into the sock draw as they are useless without a good battery.
But then they say "Once the battery is remade
or the safety has been fully re-certified to our satisfaction, we will replace these batteries free of charge."
This implies that they still have the bulk of their recent battery order in hand. Perhaps stored in a different location?
And how do you re-certify a shipment of batteries. Sample testing? Not all that reassuring to the blokes whose battery wasn't sample tested. I really dunno what they mean and suspect they don't either.
My suspicion is that they are shell shocked, needed to react quickly, and that the history, current situation, and future plans will become more apparent with a little bit of time. To me, the "throw the batteries away" is mostly CYA as I see nothing in what they have conveyed that would indicate this as being necessary.
And what of the poor sods who had a GH in with them for warranty repair and is now slag? If I'm right, they still had months of backlogged repairs. I don't know their throughput so I can't put a number on it, but I suspect its not an inconsequential number of devices and wonder how they will ever resolve this. I had recently gotten one of my two GH's back from yet another RMA but this time it was actually fixed and works like a champ. My other one, also after multiple RMAs, still ran cold and I was going to send it back again and look to buy a second one on black friday with all of the new parts, processes, etc. Well, that's not going to happen now.
Unless they have some gold plated insurance, I'm not all that confident that there will be a Hopper Labs going forward. But, we have to wait and see.
I am not inclined to throw my new batteries away. As someone mentioned, I do have a mil type ammo can and will put my stuff in there. But I have been using these batteries since the day that they went on sale and never has one been even warm to the touch. Even the one I believe was faulty and was replaced never displayed any heat at all.
I am not suggesting that anyone do what I plan, but I do not see them having made a sufficient case (or really any case) that the batteries in this latest shipment are bad.
what a shitty situation! 
This is my first & last impulsive vape purchase, lesson learned. 
I have a deep aversion to proprietary components that lock you into one supplier but I put it on the shelf for the grasshopper. Never again! 
