Race On To Find Alternative To Catastrophic Explosion As 40K Are Driven From Home In Orange County

GARDEN GROVE, CA — Roughly 40,000 people remain evacuated on Saturday as authorities work to prevent the explosion of a storage tank that has been leaking a hazardous chemical used to make plastic parts.

Firefighters have yet to secure the storage tank, which is holding between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate. The tank overheated on Thursday and began venting vapors into the air at an aerospace plastics facility in Garden Grove, authorities said.

The tank could fail and crack, releasing the chemical onto the ground, or it could explode, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said Friday.

"The tank that is in the biggest crisis is in fact unable to be secured and mitigated," Covey said Friday. "There are literally two options left remaining. One, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot in that area, or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around them that have fuel or the chemicals in them as well."

Evacuation orders were expanded Friday to some residents of five other Orange County cities — Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.

Firefighters began spraying the failing tank with water to cool the material inside, and the process continued through the night.

In an update later Friday, Covey said authorities have been able to maintain the tank's temperature, buying time to figure out how to fix it.

Drones are monitoring the tank's temperature, and by Friday evening, efforts to cool the tank were working, Covey said.

“It is not OK with me just to sit back and watch this thing blow up or fail. That is not acceptable to me," Covey said in an update posted on social media. "Our group is going to do everything they can to come up with a third, a fourth, a fifth option that is not that, that is not failure, and we can get all of you back home as soon as possible. I ask you to continue to be patient.”

That included asking the public not to call 911 for nonemergency issues. especially with suggestions about solving the problem, Covey said

"I know that everybody is thinking that they're going to give us some really great ideas on how to fix that," Covey said. "While I really appreciate the intent of that, trust me, I have the best people around working on solutions."

As of Friday afternoon, experts were being consulted locally in an effort to find an alternative way of mitigating the situation, but Covey said absent such a solution, a leak or an explosion were the only two possible outcomes.

"So we've assembled a team to think outside the box, because the manufacturer ran out of ideas to solve the problem," Covey said.

A leak or an explosion "is going to happen unless some brilliant guy out there figures out how we can mitigate this incident,'' Covey added. "This is going to fail... and we're doing our best to figure out the when and how we can prevent it."

No injuries or deaths have been reported, authorities said.

The evacuations occurred during one of the biggest events of the year in Garden Grove. The Strawberry Festival at the Village Green in downtown Garden Grove opened Friday and continues through Memorial Day. The festival will go on but organizers canceled its planned parade and community breakfast.

Nearby attractions including Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm remain open, but officials said they are monitoring the situation.

Orange County Fire Authority crews and Garden Grove police initially responded around 3:30 p.m. Thursday to GKN Aerospace at 12122 Western Ave. due to a chemical that overheated inside a 34,000-gallon tank, causing the tank to vent vapors and triggering a sprinkler system designed to
spray water on the tank to cool the material inside. The tank is located near two other storage tanks.

The chemical in the tank is methyl methacrylate, a toxic and highly flammable liquid chemical used in the manufacture of acrylic plastics.

Evacuation orders were initially issued Thursday, but they were lifted Thursday night when crews believed they were making progress mitigating the situation.

The evacuation orders were re-issued Friday morning for a massive area covering multiple cities, including parts of Garden Grove, Stanton, Anaheim, Cypress and Westminster. It's a massive evacuation area encompassing homes, businesses and industrial parks.

Evacuation centers were established at Garden Grove Sports & Recreation Center, located at 13641 Deodara Dr., and at 5700 Orange Ave. in Cypress. A Red Cross shelter has also been established at Freedom Hall, located at 16801 Euclid St. in Fountain Valley.

Covey stressed that "there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area," but he warned residents to heed evacuation warnings and remain out of the area due to a possible spill or explosion. Officials said air quality was actively being monitored in the area, and all readings were within healthy limits.

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county health officer, said if the chemical heats up, it can release a vapor that is harmful to people’s health. It can cause respiratory issues, itching and burning eyes, nausea and headaches.

GKN Aerospace said specialized hazardous material teams are assessing the situation.

“There are no reports of injuries at this time and our priority remains the safety of our employees, responders, and the surrounding community,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We will provide verified updates as soon as more information becomes available.”

It was unclear what caused the material in the tank to overheat.

Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein implored residents to follow the evacuation orders.

"We understand it is frightening people who are worried about their homes, their businesses, their pets and loved ones," she said. "But this is a serious situation and now is not the time to wait."

A public information hotline was established at 714-628-7015. Another 24-hour call center is available at 714-741-5444.

City News Service and The Associated Press contributed reporting.