Officials in Orange County, California, announced that the threat of a catastrophic explosion of a toxic chemical tank in Garden Grove has been eliminated but warned that a threat to the public still exists and evacuation orders remained in effect.
Concern had mounted for days that an overheated, pressurized tank containing a toxic chemical at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems facility, roughly 30 miles south of Los Angeles, could leak or explode as the temperature inside the tank continued to increase. Overnight between Sunday and Monday, local fire officials were able to confirm that a crack in the tank had reduced pressure and that the temperature had “stabilized.”
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Interim Orange County Fire Authority Chief TJ McGovern announced Monday in a video posted to X that the threat of a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion “is now off the table” and that the threat of a major explosion had been eliminated. Officials have stressed that the incident is ongoing and emergency protocols remain in place.
“We want to be clear that the evacuation zones are still in play,” McGovern said. “Please abide by those evacuation zones.”
Roughly 50,000 residents of Garden Grove and some surrounding communities were ordered to evacuate late last week when the threat was identified. No injuries from the ongoing incident have been reported. Despite being roughly 5 miles away from the facility, Disneyland was not included in the evacuation orders. Officials said operations remain normal at the resort, including its two theme parks.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Sunday on CNN that the agency was deployed to Garden Grove and that officials were working closely with local authorities to coordinate the response to the incident.
ZELDIN SAYS ‘A LOW-VOLUME RELEASE’ MAY CONTAIN GARDEN GROVE CHEMICAL CRISIS: WHAT TO KNOW
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced Monday that President Donald Trump approved the state’s request for a presidential emergency declaration, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance to state and local officials with the response to the ongoing chemical incident.
“We are grateful for the federal government approving our request and helping strengthen the resources already on the ground to help this community recover safely,” Newsom said in a statement.
