GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- Emergency crews are sending an urgent warning that a chemical leak coming from a large storage tank at a Garden Grove aerospace facility could cause a spill or explosion.
Authorities are calling the toxic chemical leak in Garden Grove a "crisis situation," triggering evacuation orders for roughly 40,000 Orange County residents and school closures.
AIR7 video from overhead on Friday shows unmanned fire hoses and an automatic sprinkler system spraying water on the overheated tank, which is facing a potential catastrophic failure.
The tank at GKN Aerospace is carrying a highly toxic and flammable chemical used to make plastics. Now, fire crews say the tank is going to fail in one of two ways: either with a spill of thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals or an explosion. Authorities just don't know when or how it will end.
"There are literally two options left remaining," Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Division Chief Craig Covey said. "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."
Covey stressed that "there is no active gas leak, no plume in the area," but he warned residents to heed the evacuation warnings and remain out of the area due to the possible spill or explosion. Officials said air quality was being actively monitored in the area, and all readings were still within healthy limits.
No injuries have been reported as of Friday afternoon.
It was unclear what initially caused the material in the tank to overheat.
City News Service contributed to this report.
The evacuation zone for a "crisis situation" in Garden Grove spans several blocks. Authorities say 40,000 residents are impacted. They are urging everyone in the zone to leave for their safety immediately.
The evacuation zone covers the area north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View Street and west of Dale Street. Evacuation centers were established at the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center at 13641 Deodara Dr. in Garden Grove and the Cypress Recreation and Community Center at 5700 Orange Ave. in Cypress.
Small portions of West Anaheim and Cypress are also included in the evacuation zone.
The Garden Grove Police Department says they have done reverse 911 calls and are going door to door, urging people to leave. They say right now, there's about a 15% refusal rate.
A public information hotline was established at 714-628-7085. Another 24-hour call center is available at 714-741-5444.
Rep. Derek Tran, D-Westminster, issued a statement Friday saying he was "closely monitoring" the situation.
"My office is in close contact with local police, fire, and emergency response officials as they work to contain the hazardous materials, assess air quality, and ensure residents and first responders are safe," he said. "I am in contact with federal disaster relief officials, including FEMA and the EPA, to urge them to provide any available federal assistance for Garden Grove. I encourage everyone in the affected area to follow guidance from local authorities and avoid the impacted zones until further guidance is issued."
Gov. Gavin Newsom "has been briefed on the chemical leak in Garden Grove," the governor's office said in a statement, adding that the state's Office of Emergency Services, "And multiple state agencies are engaged and have been coordinating with local authorities since the incident emerged last night. Our office continues to closely monitor the situation, and we urge residents in impacted areas to follow guidance from emergency officials."
City News Service contributed to this report.
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.
