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.
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All roads that were closed around GKN Aerospace as a result of the hazardous materials incident in the area have reopened, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
When the final evacuation orders were lifted in Orange County on Tuesday, Western remained closed between Chapman and Garden Grove Boulevard.
By Wednesday afternoon, all roads were reopened.
Residents are finally returning home, but questions remain about safety and accountability.
The immediate crisis tied to a tank at GKN Aerospace has subsided, allowing people to reenter their homes. Still, officials warn the situation is not fully resolved and crews continue monitoring the site.
In Stanton, Ruben Delgado said he was relieved to be back after evacuating Thursday and staying away until the morning of his return.
"I've been here 40 years and I didn't know what was going to happen," Delgado said.
Delgado, who takes pride in maintaining his property, built a fence to block noise and light from the neighboring industrial facility. Climbing a ladder to look beyond it, he said he was unaware of what was being produced there.
"I didn't know anything about what they were making there, you know? There was no warning or nothing," he said.
Officials now say those worst-case scenarios are no longer expected. Even so, crews remain on alert.
"There still continues to be the threat of possibly a fire or chemical spill," said Capt. Wayhowe Huang of the Orange County Fire Authority. "With that, we still have containment measures in place. We still have crews on standby in case a fire were to happen."
Fire crews were seen entering the facility and continuing to monitor the tank, which officials said has an internal temperature of around 90 degrees. At the same time, environmental experts are preparing for the next phase: cleanup and removal of the hazardous materials.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also deployed equipment throughout the area to track air quality.
Chris Myers with the EPA's Region 9 emergency response team said 20 monitoring devices have been placed across the affected community, checking for any dangerous chemical levels.
"Throughout the evacuation zone, we have not seen any exceedance that would indicate anything above one of our action levels," Myers said.
While response teams transition from emergency operations to cleanup planning, residents like Delgado hope the facility will not pose a threat in the future.
"I hope they shut that place down, you know?" he said. "I definitely hope they shut that place down."
Garden Grove Unified announced all schools in the district will reopen Wednesday. The Orange County Fire Authority said Tuesday evening that all evacuation orders stemming from the chemical tank crisis have been lifted and there is no risk to the public.
"We understand this news came late in the evening and returning home after an evacuation may take time. Please know that students will not be penalized if they are unable to attend school (Wednesday) as families continue to recover and make necessary arrangements," the school district said.
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.
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.
