All evacuation orders lifted, no threat of explosion, fire or leak at Garden Grove chemical tank

All evacuation orders prompted by the chemical tank crisis in Garden Grove have been lifted and authorities have deemed there is no risk to the public.

There was a constant flow of residents returning to their homes Tuesday evening.

Garden Grove residents began returning to their homes after all evacuation orders were lifted.

For Kimberly Hansen, the relief is overwhelming.

"I was so happy. It was traumatic. I was in a fog for days," an emotional Hansen told Eyewitness News as she held her pet turtle, Myrtle.

"I was scared to death... I just never thought that would happen," she added.

Angry and frustrated residents demanded answers and action from the City Council during a special meeting.

"A military plant has no place across the street from an elementary school, residential neighborhoods or anywhere for that matter," one speaker said.

From the threat of a catastrophic chemical explosion to the handling of the massive evacuation, many say lessons should be learned.

"Cots in these shelters were at a maximum of 200 when there were 50,000 people at most displaced," another speaker said.

In the middle of the meeting, police announced that the evacuation order was listed.

With the danger lifted and residents back home, Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein is promising GKN will be held accountable.

"Our community deserves to know what happened, why it happened and whether laws or regulations were violated, and what steps we must take to prevent something like this from ever happening again," Klopfenstein told attendees.

All evacuation orders are being lifted for residents impacted by the chemical tank crisis in Garden Grove, authorities say. OCFA says there is no more threat of a chemical leak, explosion or fire.

OCFA shared a map showing a green shaded area that represents the reopened evacuation zone.

The map also shows a red line that represents a road closure of Western between Chapman and Garden Gove Boulevard. A red circle on the map is an exclusion zone to allow hazardous materials teams to continue monitoring the tanks out of an abundance of caution, OCFA says.

A community meeting focusing on evacuees and resources is underway at Cal State Fullerton.

About 16,000 people remain under evacuation orders due to the chemical tank crisis in Garden Grove. Many evacuees were allowed to return home on Memorial Day after officials said the risk of a catastrophic explosion was averted. However, there is still a chance of a significantly smaller explosion or spill.

A community meeting focusing on evacuees and resources was held at Cal State Fullerton.

The community meeting runs until about 5:30 p.m. Some of those expected to be available to the public include consumer protection experts. Interim OCFA Fire Chief TJ McGovern was also expected to be there.

At 6 p.m., many will be heading to the Garden Grove City Council meeting where impacted community members are expected to call on the City Council to take action, including shutting down the facility.

Rep. Derek Tran, along with Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla called on President Donald Trump to declare a federal state of emergency, which the president did. Part of that means there is direct federal assistance for Orange County, including for cleanup.

Schiff says he has spoken with the EPA about what it will take to perform cleanup. He also responded to questions about possible criminal charges as a result of the leak.

"There is an investigation going on. I wouldn't be surprised to see an effort to recoup some of the expenses of the cleanup and the evacuation made after the investigation is done," Schiff said.

The Orange County district attorney has launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

In an apparent positive sign, AIR7 video shows no water being actively sprayed on the unstable chemical tank at the center of a multi-day crisis

In an apparent positive sign in Garden Grove, AIR7 video from just after 4 p.m. shows no water being actively sprayed on the unstable chemical tank at the center of a multi-day crisis that triggered evacuations for thousands of Orange County residents.

Earlier Tuesday, Orange County Fire Authority officials said they were working to reduce the amount of water being applied to the tank in an effort to see if it would stabilize on its own.

Using two systems, crews have been applying millions of gallons of water to the tank for five full days, trying to cool the chemical down.

"We're going to shut down one of those two systems, and we're going to monitor the temperature. We're looking for it to stabilize. We don't want it to come up. We're hoping it comes down," Interim OCFA Chief TJ McGovern said earlier Tuesday. "If that looks good throughout the day, then we're going to shut down the second system, and we are going to watch that."

As of 4 p.m., AIR7 video shows no water being applied to the tank. Crews were seen walking around the area and climbing the top of the tank.

OCFA officials said they were hopeful that they could provide an update on the tank and evacuations by Tuesday evening.