GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- There is no longer a threat of explosion, fire or chemical leak for a damaged tank at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, the Orange County Fire Authority announced on Tuesday night.
All evacuation orders were officially lifted at 7:30 p.m., allowing the final 16,000 evacuated Orange County residents to return home. Initially, 50,000 residents were evacuated from their homes last week.
A tank carrying 6,500 gallons of the highly toxic chemical methyl methacrylate (MMA) became unstable last week, causing the tank to heat up uncontrollably. For a few days, officials said the tank would either explode or spill out, and either outcome was inevitable.
Eventually, the tank cracked, allowing the pressure to release and eliminating the threat of a BLEVE, which stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.
Then, crews worked a risky mission to confirm that the pressure had been released and to remove weather insulation from the outside of the tank to help the water be more efficient at cooling the temperature down.
Still, a threat remained for a fire or a small explosion. Firefighters continued to try to get the tank to stabilize and were eventually able to stop dousing it with water. On Tuesday afternoon, crews were seen freely walking around the tank and climbing on top of it.
By Tuesday night, OCFA declared that there was no longer a risk to surrounding residents and all evacuation orders were lifted. No injuries were reported.
The investigation into what caused the material in the tank to overheat is ongoing. Residents have already filed a class action lawsuit against GKN Aerospace.
Este blog se ofrece en Español, aquí.
A new evacuation center has been opened at John F. Kennedy High School at 8281 Walker St. in La Palma, Orange County fire officials say.
The evacuation center opens after Freedom Hall Shelter reached capacity.
Craig Covey with the Orange County Fire Authority provided an update Friday evening, saying his team has made progress in cooling the tank.
"The focus that we have been telling our team is to think outside the box... In the last four to five hours, they've come up with some tremendous ideas that we're going to start taking action on as soon as possibly tonight," Covey said.
He added that their efforts have resulted in cooling the tank, with the temperature down to around 61 degrees, with "50 (degrees) being its happy place."
"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... and we can go in there and mitigate this thing," 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," he added.
Crews will be working overnight, and the next update will be provided Saturday morning.
The Orange County Fire Authority is asking the public to refrain from calling with suggestions on how to handle the chemical tank leak.
"At this time, we ask the public to refrain from calling to offer suggestions so emergency personnel can keep communication lines focused on incident operations and public safety needs. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation," OCFA said in a post on X.
Seniors at Kennedy High School in the Anaheim Union High School District missed their graduation ceremony on Friday due to a chemical tank crisis happening at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove.
The district announced the Kennedy High School graduation, which was scheduled for 2 p.m., would be canceled due to the evacuation orders and emergency response happening in Orange County.
Kennedy High School and Handel Stadium are not located within the evacuation zone, but authorities said the decision was made "out of an abundance of caution and in the best interest of the safety and well-being of our students, families, staff, and community."
Small portions of West Anaheim and Cypress are included in the evacuation zone impacting 40,000 Orange County residents.
In a later announcement, the district announced the graduation ceremony was rescheduled for Tuesday, May 26, at 6 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The district said further details regarding guest entry, parking and more will be shared by Kennedy High School.
