Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon in Orange County, California, due to a chemical leak at an aerospace facility.
Overheated tanks at risk of explosion prompted emergency response efforts and evacuations in Garden Grove after local responders first attempted to cool them on Thursday. 40,000 people have since been told to evacuate the county due to the explosion risk.
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Craig Covey, an incident commander for the Orange County Fire Authority, said in its first public announcement that the responders face two options, both of which threaten the safety of the local community.
“One, the tank fails and spills a total of about six to seven thousand 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 it that have fuel or chemicals in them as well.”
In an update posted to social media late Saturday night, Covey said, “the biggest focus, as always, is constantly about public safety. We’re doing everything we can to ensure all of you are out of harm’s way, and we’re trying to mitigate this incident.”
He says the goal is to prevent any further leakage that could harm homes and the environment, noting that the chemical could reach the ocean.
According to Covey, the state brought in subject-matter experts to think “completely outside the box” to offer us “a third option that does not involve damaging this community.”
Newsom’s statement says the “state continues to assist in local response efforts following a hazardous chemical incident at an aerospace facility that has resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding area.”
The toxic chemical in the tanks is methyl methacrylate. It’s a highly flammable liquid chemical used to make plastics that can explode at high temperatures. The tanks are at a facility owned by manufacturer GKN Aerospace.
Emergency crews launched an “overnight mission” Friday night to check the internal temperature of the primary tank, finding it had increased to 90 degrees Fahrenheit from 77 degrees that morning.
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Garden Grove is a small city just over 30 miles from Los Angeles, close to Disneyland.
Newsom’s proclamation also “unlocks additional emergency response resources and authorities, including making state-owned properties and fairgrounds available to provide shelter for evacuated residents, as necessary.”
