Authorities are bracing for the possibility that a damaged chemical tank inSouthern Californiacould leak or explode as an evacuation order continued into the Memorial Day weekend for 40,000 residents with no timeline on when they can return.
No injuries were reported after the pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Garden Grove is about 38 miles (61 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles. Several shelters remained open Saturday, including at three high schools.
But officials said that by Saturday the valves on the tank are broken or “gummed up,” so that prevented crews from removing the chemical or relieving the pressure on the tank, said Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey.
Firefighters’ first hope is to find a way to cool off the chemical inside the tank so it won’t leak or explode. If that’s not possible, Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton said it would be best if the tank sprang a leak so the chemical could be mostly contained. An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel from the tank flying would be the worst-case scenario.
If the temperature inside the tank continues to increase, the pressure will continue to build as the methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas because officials said Saturday that the pressure relief valves on the tank were no longer working. Whelton said it’s unlikely that firefighters would consider creating a hole in the tank because of fears that could create a spark that might ignite the volatile and flammable gas.
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Efforts to cool the tank appeared to be working Friday, but Covey backtracked Saturday, saying a reading conducted by drones actually showed the temperature on the outside of the tank, not the inside. Covey said emergency crews later were able to see the troubled tank’s temperature gauge in person late Friday.
“Unfortunately I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees,” Covey said Saturday. That was up from 77 degrees Friday morning.
Cooling the tank is important because the liquid chemical’s flashpoint is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Initially, residents in Garden Grove were ordered to leave. Evacuation orders were expanded Friday to some residents of five other Orange County cities — Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster. Some residents with pets said they planned to sleep in their cars.
Source: Drudge Report
