Tens of thousands of residents are threatened by the entry into force of mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday May 23.
Thousands of residents have been forcibly evacuated as firefighters race against time to try to stop a dangerously hot chemical storage tank from overflowing with toxic materials or exploding.
The ordeal began Thursday when the GKN Aerospace facility, located on Western Avenue in Garden Grove, experienced problems with its 34,000-gallon MMA tank. MMA is a combustible and toxic substance used in the production of plastics. The chemical storage tank was heating up due to a faulty valve preventing access to the material.
A rigorous assessment, led by Orange County Fire Division Chief Craig Covey, found that the reservoir could no longer be secured.
Covey said, “There are literally two options left. One, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons of very harmful chemicals…or two, the tank goes into thermal runaway and explodes.”
Officials say the “best case scenario” would be a controlled spill.
About 4,000 people in parts of Garden Grove, Westminster, Stanton and Anaheim were evacuated within a one-mile radius of the facility.
Classes have been suspended indefinitely at more than a dozen schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District. The main roads affected are Beach Blvd. and some exits from State Route 22.
Local landmarks such as Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm are operational, but keeping an eye on the situation.
So far, no injuries have been reported and the air quality index remains good.
Firefighters continue to douse the tank with water to cool it, while drones monitor internal temperatures as authorities decide to wait for a rupture or explosion.
