Newsom declares state of emergency in Orange County as 34,000-gallon chemical tank risks explosion

GARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA: California Gov Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County after officials warned a massive chemical tank at an aerospace facility could either spill or explode, forcing tens of thousands of residents out of their homes as crews raced to prevent a larger disaster.

More than 40,000 residents were evacuated on Saturday, May 23, after emergency teams were unable to neutralize a 34,000-gallon chemical tank at GKN Aerospace’s facility in Garden Grove.

Inside the tank is highly volatile methyl methacrylate (MMA), a chemical officials fear could leak or erupt and potentially trigger a chain reaction involving nearby containers holding the same substance.

“The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are mobilizing every state resource available to support local responders and make sure the community has what they need to stay safe.”

Officials warned that if the situation cannot be brought under control, a rupture or explosion could damage nearby buildings, ignite a fire, and release between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of what authorities described as “very bad chemicals.”

California emergency officials said state agencies remain fully engaged as conditions continue to shift.

“California's Office of Emergency Services continues to work alongside our local partners to support the ongoing hazardous materials response operation,” Director Caroline Thomas Jacobs said in the joint statement. “Our role is to coordinate resources, share critical information, and ensure local responders have all the resources necessary to safely respond to this dynamic situation. We are committed to a unified, whole-of-government response focused on keeping our communities safe.”

Escaping vapors lead to mass evacuations

The emergency began on Thursday when firefighters responded after vapors started escaping from the giant storage tank at the Garden Grove facility.

According to officials, rising temperatures inside the tank activated a pressure relief valve designed to safely release internal pressure.

Initially, responders believed they had gained control. Cooling operations were launched, and water systems were used to bring temperatures down. Conditions improved enough that the evacuation orders issued on Thursday evening were briefly lifted.

That relief did not last. Overnight, conditions worsened again.

Multiple evacuation centers were established outside Garden Grove, including in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, according to the city’s website.

Even with the warnings, approximately 15% of residents ordered to evacuate chose to remain at home, according to the New York Post.

Authorities still have not provided a timeline for when residents may be allowed to return.

By early Friday morning, crews discovered that a damaged valve on the compromised tank had made it impossible to safely remove or neutralize the chemicals.

“We have determined that the tank that is in the biggest crisis is, in fact, unable to be secured and mitigated,” Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said during an emergency briefing.

“This thing is going to fail. We don't know when,” he added. “There is a lot of anxiety over this.”

Officials search for a way to prevent a chain reaction

Fire crews worked through Friday night trying to stabilize nearby tanks and prevent the incident from escalating. Orange County Representative Derek Tran said Saturday that the neighboring containers remained a major concern because they held the same hazardous material.

“The additional part to all of this that complicates things is the two other tanks that are located in there,” Tran said. “While those tanks are not failing, they contain 30-something thousand additional gallons of the same toxic chemicals.”

Despite repeated attempts to cool and contain the threat, the emergency proclamation warned that “significant risk remains of a catastrophic event that could lead to a hazardous release of dangerous chemicals.”

Tran said crews are operating around the clock.

Temperature issues only added to the concern. According to Fox News, failures involving the tank’s internal temperature gauge allowed temperatures to climb to 90 degrees Saturday morning after readings of 77 degrees the previous day.

“Yesterday afternoon, I did report that we had some positive intel and that the tanks were stable, and we were keeping the temperature cool,” Covey said. “And, actually, we thought we were reducing it a little bit. Unfortunately, I have to say those temperatures we are doing is via drone, doing readings external of the vessel.”

After overnight efforts failed, responders introduced a third strategy aimed at avoiding disaster altogether. Crews planned to direct a continuous heavy stream of water onto the outside of the tank in hopes of slowly "curing" and hardening the chemicals inside.

“We are not giving up,” Covey said. “We are not accepting the fact that we just have to let this thing fail. We’re going to try to find a solution.”

Emergency teams have also moved to prevent chemicals from entering storm drains, rivers, and the ocean if containment fails.

Health officials warned there are “severe risks” if the tank ruptures, including the release of toxic vapor. Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong of the Orange County Health Care Agency told Fox that inhaling the chemicals could cause serious respiratory problems.

“No matter what happens with the situation, whether the polymer just leaks out and then just hardens, or if it does explode and there is a vapor, you are all safe as long as you are out of the zone,” she said.