Evacuation centers in Orange County were filling up Sunday as firefighters and engineers continued looking for ways to prevent a major disaster at a plant in Garden Grove, where a 7,000-gallon tank filled with a flammable and toxic chemical has been overheating since Thursday.
Some 50,000 people have been evacuated from parts of Garden Grove and neighboring communities. The evacuation zone was north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View Street and west of Dale Street, and includes the entire city of Stanton, along with parts of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Westminster, Buena Park and Cypress.
A new evacuation center was opened at the Golden West College Gymnasium in Huntington Beach, and centers were also operating at the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center and the Cypress Recreation and Community Center. An evacuation center that accepts pets was opened at Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley, but many pets were being housed outside other evacuation centers, which were not allowing them inside.
Four evacuation centers that opened earlier were already full: Freedom Hall in Fountain Valley, Kennedy High School in La Palma, Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach and Savannah High School in Anaheim.
Additionally, all Orange County 24 Hour Fitness clubs and several locations in the southwest Los Angeles area have been opened to offer restrooms and showers, phone-charging and air-conditioned space to rest for impacted residents.
Multiple schools in the Garden Grove, Magnolia, Savanna, Westminster and Cypress school districts were closed until further notice.
The tank was still intact Sunday, one day after firefighters reported that an overnight foray into the facility revealed temperatures there were rising by about 1 degree per hour and not decreasing as hoped, the Orange County Fire Authority noted.
In a more hopeful update Sunday morning, the agency said a specialized team of subject matter experts made another venture into the critical area late Saturday and found a potential crack in the tank.
“During that operation, our firefighters went in and were able to visualize the tank. What they found was a potential crack in the tank, which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure in there,” said TJ McGovern, interim fire chief for the OCFA.
He added that authorities were vetting the new information, which could “change our trajectory and our strategy for this event.”
“Last night was a successful operation,” McGovern said. ” … We’re not there yet, but this was a step in the right direction.”
On Saturday, Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey said workers were able to see a gauge that’s covered by water, and it revealed the temperature had increased to 90 degrees from 77 degrees Friday morning. The team was currently allowing the tank to “cure at a slower rate and reducing its (building) overpressure,” Covey said.
Additionally, the OCFA is “bringing people in from all over the country, talking to people all over the place, trying to come up with additional options. Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us.”
He added that “very aggressive” contingency plans are being employed in case the tank blows up or leaks, including fire and medical emergency plans, though the only people currently at risk were the firefighters and police officers on scene.
Authorities are trying to establish “some diking and damming and divert it to a spot that could be a holding area” to prevent the fluid from “getting into our storm drains, our river channels and ultimately into the ocean, (causing) an environmental disaster,” Covey said.
Air quality monitors said they had not detected any contaminants in the atmosphere near the facility thus far.
GKN Aerospace, a global supplier of vehicle and aircraft components that manufactures acrylic plastics, posted the following statement on its website Sunday:
“We continue to monitor the condition of the affected material and are working round the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak. We are acutely aware of the uncertainty this incident is causing and sincerely apologize for the ongoing disruption to the local community.
“We are working closely with the Orange County Fire Authority, the EPA, OSHA, and all relevant federal, state and local agencies, and remain deeply grateful for the dedication and expertise of all the emergency services and agencies involved. Our priority remains the safe resolution of this incident, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible. Please continue to follow all instructions issued by local authorities and emergency personnel at this time.”
Authorities responded to the plant at 12122 Western Ave. at about 3 p.m. Thursday after the tank began venting vapors and triggering a sprinkler system designed to spray water on it to cool the material inside, methyl methacrylate used to manufacture acrylic plastics. Officials are concerned that further instability in the 7,000-gallon tank could set off an explosion in two adjacent tanks at the facility, one holding 15,000 gallons and one that contains 4,500 gallons.
Evacuation orders were issued, but later lifted Thursday night when crews believed they were making progress mitigating the situation. But Friday morning, the orders were re-instituted “due to changing conditions,” OCFA officials said. As the morning wore on, the situation worsened, and the evacuation zone was expanded to create a roughly one-mile buffer area around the tank.
Officials clarified Saturday that the evacuation area was divided into a handful of zones, including three circular “blast zones” closest to the plant, with likely severe, moderate and light damage in the event of an explosion.
Beyond that, three other zones were identified: Areas of flammability where fire or flash fire could occur, areas that were “immediately dangerous to life and health, where it would cause injury if anybody inhales or is impacted by the product in question,” according to Nick Freeman, division chief with the OCFA, and a large “non-hazardous zone” where people could still smell odors from a leak.
Covey said a spill of the chemical is actually the “best case scenario, believe it or not,” favorable to an explosion and possible plume of toxic material spreading over the area.
He stressed that “there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area,” but warned residents to heed the evacuation warnings and remain out of the area due to the possible spill or explosion. Officials said air quality was being actively monitored and all readings were still within healthy limits.
It was unclear what caused the material in the tank to overheat.
In 2021, GKN Aerospace paid about $900,000 to settle multiple environmental violations, including failing to keep emission records and operating equipment without a permit, according to the OC Register, which cited the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday. The proclamation directs the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and all state government agencies to support Orange County and impacted local jurisdictions to address the emergency. It also unlocks additional emergency response resources and authorities, including making state-owned properties and fairgrounds available to provide shelter for evacuated residents as necessary.
Newsom also asked President Donald Trump to issue a federal emergency declaration, and Rep. Derek Tran, D-Westminster, and California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff also sent a letter to Trump on Sunday urging approval of the request.
“The severity of this disaster requires additional coordination and federal support. Therefore, we urge you to expeditiously approve California’s request for an Emergency Declaration and to provide emergency protective measures and direct federal assistance under the public assistance program for Orange County,” they wrote.
“For more than 48 hours, @Cal_OES and state agencies have been on the ground supporting impacted communities, protecting public safety, and assisting local officials as response efforts continue,” Newsom said Sunday.
” … California doesn’t wait for disaster to unfold, we act early to protect lives and communities,” he added. “Working together with our local and federal partners, we’re strengthening our ability to respond quickly and effectively in Garden Grove and across the surrounding communities and ensuring that first responders have the resources they need to keep people safe.”
The governor’s office said a declaration from the Trump administration would permit federal cost-sharing support for urgent actions such as evacuations, sheltering and emergency medical support, access to public assistance to help pay for overtime, equipment and other emergency actions, and the ability for FEMA to provide additional direct federal assistance, such as personnel, specialized equipment and technical support.
It differs from a major disaster declaration, which is typically approved only after significant damage has occurred.
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Saturday cautioned anyone who would jack up prices on needed items during a state of emergency.
“California’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food and other essential supplies,” he said. “If you see price gouging, I encourage you to immediately file a complaint with my office online at oag.ca.gov/report or contact your local police department or sheriff’s office.”
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday afternoon that it has established an anonymous tipline and online reporting form to gather information regarding the incident.
“Anyone with information related to the circumstances leading up to this incident, including but not limited to specific details of the release, information about the industrial operations of the facility, the quality and frequency of maintenance of the tanks and systems at issue, and any other relevant information at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, is encouraged to call the Orange County District Attorney Anonymous Tip Hotline at 714-347-8714 or fill out an anonymous online form at www.ocdistrictattorney.gov,” the office stated.
A Garden Grove emergency hotline was operated at 714-741-5444, and an Orange County public information hotline was available at 714-628-7085.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Disneyland in Anaheim were both open this weekend, but park officials said they were continuing to monitor the situation.
Disneyland officials said in a statement online that they were “taking guidance from local authorities,” adding that “the Disneyland Resort is approximately five miles from the incident and is not in the identified evacuation zone.”
Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, which canceled its planned race card Saturday night “in solidarity with the state of emergency declared in Orange County,” announced that Sunday’s racing would go on as scheduled, with the first post at 5:45 p.m.
The OCFA said the incident management team, in consultation with the EPA and Orange County Health Care Agency, “has established the evacuation zone. Any areas outside of this zone are currently considered completely safe and day-to-day activities can continue as normal.”