Emergency shelters stayed operational across Southern California on Saturday while officials continued efforts to prevent a dangerous chemical storage tank from exploding near Disneyland’s theme parks.
The Orange County Fire Authority reported no injuries after the pressurized container began overheating Thursday and started releasing vapors in Garden Grove. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders affecting 40,000 residents, with emergency shelters established by Friday evening at three high schools and other locations.
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey explained that authorities fear the tank could rupture and spill its contents or potentially explode. The container sits at GKN Aerospace, a facility that manufactures components for commercial and military aircraft. The tank contains between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in plastic manufacturing.
Fire crews are using drone technology to track the tank’s temperature, and by Friday evening, cooling efforts showed positive results, Covey reported.
“It is not OK with me just to sit back and watch this thing blow up or fail. That is not acceptable to me,” Covey stated in a social media update. “Our group is going to do everything they can to come up with a third, a fourth, a fifth option that is not that, that is not failure, and we can get all of you back home as soon as possible. I ask you to continue to be patient.”
Officials also requested that residents avoid calling 911 with non-emergency matters, particularly suggestions for resolving the crisis, Covey noted.
“I know that everybody’s thinking they’re going to give us some really good ideas on how to fix that,” he stated. “While we really appreciate the intent of that, trust me, I have the best people around working on solutions.”
The evacuation zone initially covered Garden Grove residents but expanded Friday to include parts of five additional Orange County communities: Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.
Garden Grove sits approximately 38 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and less than a mile from Disneyland’s two theme parks, which remain outside the evacuation area. The community hosts one of the nation’s largest Vietnamese populations, and local Vietnamese television networks have been translating official updates and encouraging residents to take the emergency seriously.
Covey said emergency teams constructed sandbag barriers to contain the toxic substance and prevent it from entering storm drainage systems or reaching nearby waterways and the ocean if a spill occurs.
When the chemical becomes overheated, it can produce vapors dangerous to human health, according to Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the Orange County health officer. Exposure can trigger breathing problems, eye irritation and burning, nausea and headaches.
Emergency crews initially succeeded in neutralizing one of two compromised tanks, but Covey announced Friday morning that the remaining container was “in the biggest crisis.”
GKN Aerospace released a statement saying the company was “fully focused on working with emergency services, specialized hazardous material teams and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the local community, our employees and everyone else involved.”
