Garden Grove chemical tank update: Cleanup efforts to begin and legal claims mount

The county announced that it is opening the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa to help relieve the shelters, providing space for evacuees in RVs.

Many shelters have opened to help evacuees impacted by the evacuation order in Orange County, but they're filling up almost as quickly as officials can open them.

Approximately 50,000 people live within the evacuation zone, which impacts the entire city of Stanton, plus parts of Garden Grove, West Anaheim, Cypress, Westminster and Buena Park.

The county announced that it is opening the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa to help relieve the shelters. The fairgrounds will be available for 100 RV evacuees, according to Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.

"Families with RVs under evacuation order can head to the Orange County Fair & Event Center for a safe and secure place to stay awaiting removal of evacuation orders," said Vice Chair Foley. "After speaking to the CEO of the fairgrounds, the site can accommodate 25 RVs with utility hookups at the campground, and 75 more in the parking lot. The site is patrolled by security and will offer access to restrooms."

The entrance is at Gate 4 into Lot E off of Arlington Drive. Anyone with questions can call the OC Fair Security Office at (714) 708-1588.

Eyewitness News spoke to frustrated residents at one of the shelters in Anaheim, which was at capacity as of Sunday evening. The Red Cross estimates 160 people are staying at Savanna High School.

Volunteers were seen serving lunch at the shelter earlier in the day.

The Red Cross estimates 640 people have sought refuge at six shelters across the county.

With most shelters at capacity, Eyewitness News spotted many families staying in their cars in the parking lot of the shelters.

County leaders and the Red Cross said they were working to open more shelters for evacuees.

Approximately 50,000 people have been forced from their homes due to a chemical tank crisis in Garden Grove. Now, California State Parks are asking evacuees not to go to state beaches to stay overnight.

"State beach parking lots are not approved evacuation centers and do not have the facilities or resources to accommodate overnight guests," California State Parks said in a post on social media.

Impacted residents can find a list of evacuation shelters and check their availability at ggcity.org and www.ocsheriff.gov.

The evacuation zone includes the entire city of Stanton, plus parts of Garden Grove, West Anaheim, Cypress, Westminster and Buena Park.

The Orange County Fire Authority says the internal temperature of an unstable chemical tank at GKN Aerospace is now over 100 degrees.

The Orange County Fire Authority says the internal temperature of an unstable chemical tank at GKN Aerospace is now over 100 degrees.

Officials don't know how far over 100 degrees the temperature has climbed because the gauge doesn't read higher than 100, the OCFA said.

Eyewitness News asked what temperature would trigger an explosion, but the OCFA did not have an answer. Despite the temperature, officials say they do not believe there are any contaminants currently leaking from the tank.

At one point on Saturday, OCFA officials said the temperature of the tank was rising by about one degree per hour. The tank was 77 degrees on Friday morning.

Firefighters are hopeful that the discovery of a crack in the tank on Saturday night will relieve some pressure, leading to a more favorable outcome.

"So far, it's been positive news because there is no vapors being detected by the air monitors, and there is no active leak that is on the ground. So far, that is a good sign," said Capt. Brian Yau with OCFA. "The next determination is the pressure behind this, because it has expanded. The tank has expanded, and it has cracked. So what is causing it? We need to figure out what is causing the expansion and the cracking of the tank."

Officials say if the external temperature of the tank stays in a low zone, around 50 degrees, it means the ground monitors are effective in keeping the tanks cool. On Sunday evening, officials said the external temperature was around 60 degrees.

OCFA is reiterating the importance of leaving if you are within the evacuation zones. Officials said they noticed some people returning to their homes on Sunday, but they stressed that the evacuation order is in place for everyone's safety.

A crack discovered in a chemical tank is now offering a glimmer of hope, but what exactly does it mean?

OCFA Interim Chief T.J. McGovern explained to ABC News Reporter Jaclyn Lee that teams executed an operation late Saturday night to get eyes on the tank. To their surprise, they discovered the crack.

Lee: "Why would this be a good thing?"
McGovern: "So the thing about the crack is what we're looking for, it's going to relieve pressure. We want the pressure relieved out of that tank."

When asked if a crack could hypothetically lead to a larger leak, McGovern said they are using drones and monitoring the air. He said they have complete confidence that there are no leaks.

Lee: "So the crack could mean no explosion?"
McGovern: "Not necessarily. The crack with the relief of pressure could be there is no BLEVE. There could still be an explosion. The explosion could be caused by the material in there. It'd be an explosion. Explosion is much lesser than an actual BLEVE."

BLEVE stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion and in simple terms, there could still be an explosion, just a smaller one than initially feared.

McGovern said teams will conduct another mission Sunday night to confirm information about the crack and if the data is positive, they will likely decrease the size of the evacuation zone.