Gavin Newsom Declares State Of Emergency After GKN Aerospace Tank Overheats In Garden Grove

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday as officials searched for a safe resolution to a damaged chemical tank at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove.

“01:07 01:04 01:58 01:53 00:51 02:23 24:32 L”

20 Minutes

Authorities said the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents was spurred by temperatures inside the tank continuing to rise, with Orange County Fire Authority Chief Craig Covey describing the situation as "significantly dangerous."

20 Minutes

The incident began at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when a 34,000-gallon storage tank containing methyl methacrylate became severely overheated and began venting vapours.

Officials said the tank’s internal temperature was 90 degrees on Friday night after starting the day at 77 degrees, and they said the pressure relief valves were no longer working.

Firefighters’ first hope was to find a way to cool off the chemical inside the tank so it would not leak or explode, and the tank held between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, used to make plastic parts.

Covey said there were "literally two options left remaining"—either the tank fails and spills a total of about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot, or the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up.

In a video posted to X on Saturday, Covey said, "We did put people in harm's way last night ... with an attempt to go in and neutralize the additional tank," after crews entered the danger zone to ensure an additional tank near the leaking tank was stable.

ABC7 San Francisco

NBC News reported that crews worked through the night on what officials described as an unprecedented hazmat crisis, with the internal temperature climbing from 77 degrees to 90 degrees and continuing to rise by roughly 1 degree per hour.

NBC News also said officials were preparing three scenarios, including a slower “curing” process in which heavy water cooling could reduce pressure buildup enough to prevent a disastrous explosion.

Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Nick Freeman showed a map with the potential blast radius if the tank were to explode, while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed Los Angeles was not affected and there was no risk to the city.

Officials said no injuries were reported and air quality monitors had not detected methyl methacrylate in the air, while Orange County Health Officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said those outside the evacuation area were not believed to face health risks and did not need masks.

“- Published California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as emergency crews raced to contain a toxic chemical leak at a manufacturing facility in Orange County”

BBC

Chinsio-Kwong said, "Smelling it doesn't mean that it will have health impacts," and she said methyl methacrylate has a strong fruity odor.

ABC7 San Francisco reported that Newsom’s proclamation directed California’s Office of Emergency Services and all state government agencies to support the county and impacted local jurisdictions, and it unlocked additional emergency response resources including state-owned properties and fairgrounds for shelter.

NBC Los Angeles said the governor’s office announced two more sites for evacuees: Garden Grove Sports & Recreation Center at 13641 Deodara Drive in Garden Grove and Cypress Community Center at 5700 Orange Avenue in Cypress.

The crisis centered on methyl methacrylate, which CNBC said had a flashpoint of 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), and which NBC News described as a toxic chemical used to manufacture resins and plastics, including Plexiglass.