Orange County chemical leak frustrating crews as evacuation zone grows

A massive tank leaking toxic chemicals into the sky over Garden Grove, California has led to more evacuations as officials struggle to prevent a possible explosion.

The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) has been briefing the public all day Friday about the dangerous leak, which forced mass evacuations and school closures in the area since it started on Thursday.

“The great news is our efforts so far have continued to cool the tank. It’s down to a temperature around 61 degrees, with 50 being its happy place,” OCFA Division Chief Craig Covey said in a recent update.

“So those efforts are succeeding and it’s giving us opportunity to reconsider engaging in close proximity to implement some of the concepts that were outside the box,” he added.

The leak at the GKN Aerospace plant, located at Western and Lampson avenues, led to evacuation orders affecting thousands of nearby residents.

On Thursday, firefighters responded to a vapor release from a 34,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, an industrial chemical used in plastics and manufacturing, the OCFA said.

The tank’s temperature had increased, activating a relief valve designed to safely release vapors, officials said.

Dr. Regina Chintanar Quang with the OC health agency said that their biggest “concern is when this chemical reacts and the temperatures rise, it can cause a vapor.”

“My big concern is that if that vapor goes into the air and people inhale it, it causes significant damage.”

Quang listed some of the symptoms people would experience if they did inhale from an irritation to a person’s respiratory tract or lungs, with prolonged exposure possibly leading to severe respiratory issues.

“So 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 that was determined to be an evacuation zone.”

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Officials reiterated that if you do end up smelling the vapors, to let them know right away.

Mayor Pro-Tem for Garden Grove City George S. Brietigam issued a statement Friday night that “evacuations are continuing with PD still going door to door.”

“There are local hotels providing discounted rooms for evacuees that are listed on the city website. If you have older or infirm neighbors, please help them if you can.”

The Garden Grove Police Department said they have done reverse 911 calls and are going door to door, urging people to leave. They say right now, there’s about a 15% refusal rate.

The evacuation zone covers the area north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View Street and west of Dale Street. Small portions of West Anaheim and Cypress have been added to the original evacuation zone.

A total of three evacuation centers are now activated, per the OCFA.

• Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center
• Cypress Recreation and Community Center
• Anaheim Savannah High School: 301 N. Gilbert St., Anaheim.

So far at least one school district had to cancel its planned high school graduation ceremony due to the ongoing situation.

“Kennedy High School Graduation Ceremony Rescheduled,” the social media post read, with the new date and time listed.

The annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival announced it was canceling its parade and 5K race, organizers confirmed Friday, citing a shortage of available public safety resources.

Festival officials said all other events and activities are still expected to move forward as scheduled.

Officials have warned the leaking tank had become a ticking time bomb, with the risk of either spilling thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals or exploding if it entered a “thermal runaway.”

OCFA said the facility and industrial crew representatives were continuing to manage the containment and removal process.

“I ask you continue to be patient. We’re gonna work 24 hours a day,” Covey said.

“There are full night shifts out there tonight working on it and engaging on some of those concepts. We will give you an update tomorrow morning on how things are going.”

Garden Grove police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Station unit and OC Health were also supporting the response.

The cause of the leak was not immediately clear.