Evacuation zone reduced with threat of massive explosion eliminated at Orange County chemical tank

Millions of gallons of water have been used on the tank at the center of the chemical crisis in Garden Grove, officials said Monday.

Millions of gallons of water have been used on the tank at the center of the chemical crisis in Garden Grove, officials said Monday.

Crews have been using high-capacity water flow from multiple systems operating at full intensity over several days in an attempt to cool the temperature of the tank down.

"So, you got a deluge system with a full throttle on it, and then we have that ground monitor on the ground that's flowing 1,250 gallons a minute, so imagine five days of that," Orange County Fire Authority Chief Craig Covey said. "We're talking millions and millions of gallons."

Seven arrests have been made in Garden Grove during an ongoing chemical tank crisis that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.

Seven arrests have been made in Garden Grove during an ongoing chemical tank crisis that has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents, the police chief revealed at a press conference on Monday.

According to Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra, seven total arrests have been made since the incident began -- one person for looting and six for prowling.

"Unfortunately, during incidents like this, we do have bad actors," El-Farra said. "Our partners over at the D.A.'s office are going to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

El-Farra said residents can expect to see an elevated police presence throughout the community, including in areas recently removed from the evacuation zone.

Officials provided a positive update on Monday evening, saying the worst-case scenario at an unstable chemical tank has been avoided.

Officials provided a positive update at a press conference on Monday evening, saying the worst-case scenario at an unstable chemical tank in Garden Grove has been avoided. With the announcement came a reduction in the evacuation zone for Orange County residents.

"The most catastrophic and worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved," Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern said. "That was the case of a potential BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). It's not over yet, and I want to re-emphasize that. It's not over yet. We still have work to do."

McGovern said the reduced evacuation zone is still in place because crews are still working to mitigate the chance of a small explosion, fire, or possible spill. Approximately 16,000 residents are still impacted.

OCFA Chief Craig Covey provided new details about what firefighters have been doing to improve the situation at GKN Aerospace. He said firefighters were specifically approaching the tank and checking the trends overnight because the temperature is the most unstable during the daylight hours.

He said when the tank cracked, it was just enough to release the pressure without causing a leak or an explosion. Now, the internal temperature of the tank is finally reducing as the tank stabilizes. The tank previously reached over 100 degrees, hotter than their gauges could measure.

Covey said overnight, firefighters took off weather protection and insulation on the outside of the tank to help the water be more efficient at cooling the temperature down.

He stressed that there have been no injuries to civilians or firefighters throughout the ongoing incident.

The tank initially held approximately 6,500 gallons of a toxic chemical, methyl methacrylate, or MMA. Now, officials believe a lot of the chemical has cured.

"We don't think there's that much liquid potential left in it. We don't know exactly how much... we know some of that is gelled up or hardened like it's supposed to do," Covey said.

Authorities explained that the reduced evacuation zone was established with residents' safety as the top priority. Covey said the county's team of experts is focusing on a five-day risk assessment, keeping the weather forecast in mind. The new, reduced evacuation zone also takes into consideration the risk of a potential plume or fire at the tank.

In order to further reduce the evacuation zone or eliminate it completely, Covey said they need to continue to observe a trend of decreasing temperatures inside the tank. That's what will decrease the risk of fire.

He said there is no timeline for when the evacuation zone will be reduced again, but said it will not happen on Monday.

"The city remains committed to understanding what happened, supporting those impacted, and working with the appropriate agencies to make sure this incident is fully reviewed," Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said at Monday's press conference.

Klopfenstein noted that Tuesday's regularly scheduled city council meeting has been canceled, and instead, the city will hold a special meeting at the Community Meeting Center at 5:30 p.m., focused on the incident, the city's response and the latest information available. Residents are encouraged to attend and ask questions.

"You can feel safe. There was no contamination. There were no fumes. There were no vapors that came from this incident," Health Officer Dr. CK said.

With thousands of Orange County residents returning home on Monday evening, local leaders and experts are ensuring that everyone can go home feeling safe.

Orange County Health Officer Dr. CK said there were no fumes and there are no vapors in the air that could harm residents.

"When you go home, you can feel safe. There was no contamination. There were no fumes. There were no vapors that came from this incident. There was no leak. You should feel comfortable going home," Dr. CK said at a Monday evening press conference.

Officials are stressing that there has been no leak of contaminants into the air. Chris Myers with the EPA said 20 real-time air monitoring instruments have been working around the clock throughout the evacuation zone. He said no exceedances have been detected at any time throughout this event, and air monitoring will continue.

Authorities say residents also do not need to worry about particles settling around their homes since the air quality has been consistently clean. There is no need to wipe down patio furniture or any belongings exposed to the open air.

In addition to safe air quality, officials are ensuring that the water quality is also unaffected. The Orange County Fire Authority said runoff flowing from the water being sprayed on the tank and into storm drains is beeing consistently tested, and it has been clean the whole time. If contaminants were to enter the water, OCFA Chief Craig Covey said downstream barriers are in place to capture anything floating in the water. Still, the barriers have not collected anything so far since the water remains clean.

Approximately 16,000 residents remain in a reduced evacuation zone.