Orange County emergency officials are trying to figure out how to keep a tank of dangerous chemicals from catching fire or exploding.
They're in the back of an Aerospace company along Western Ave. Evacuation orders are in effect for 40,000 people in Garden Grove, Stanton, and parts of Buena Park and Anaheim
Orange County Fire Authority Chief Craig Covey said during a press conference Friday afternoon that of three barrels of chemicals that were at risk of leaking, two of them have had their contents neutralized. The third barrel containing 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, or MMA, is a problem because a valve on that barrel, which could allow a chemical to be injected into it to neutralize it, is jammed.
He said the chemical is still heating up inside the barrel, and it's at risk of failing and releasing the MMA in one of two ways - "a leaking tank or a tank that blows up."
"That's why we extended the evacuation today in an overabundance of caution," he said. "This is highly volatile. It's highly toxic and it's highly flammable. There's no timetable on when either of those failures might happen."
It started on Thursday at around 3:30 p.m. when firefighters responded to the 12100 block of Western Ave. for a vapor release from the 34,000 gallon tank, which was containing methyl methacrylate, according to OCFA.
Fire officials later announced that evacuation orders were issued for residents in the north of Garden Grove Blvd, east of Springdale Ave., west of Dale St. and south of Orangewood Ave.
The evacuation area here in Garden Grove and adjacent Anaheim has grown due to a hazardous chemical leak at an aerospace company along Western Ave. Beach Blvd, as you can here, is also closed north of the 22 up past Katella. The latest @knxnews pic.twitter.com/l0QtduDmf9
— Brian Douglas (@BrianDouglasKNX) May 22, 2026
OC Fire Authority Captain Sean Doran told KNX News that the evacuation was because the fluid, which is used to make plastics, is potentially flammable.
“Any time we put an evacuation warning order shelter in place, whatever the case is, we do that out of an abundance of caution, and we understand the impact it has on our community,” he explained. “It's no small ask to look to our community to leave their home. “
He says they cleared the area not only for the sake of the nearby residents but to allow them to bring in the resources they needed.
In the early morning hours of Friday, residents were allowed to return home. Then, around 6:30 a.m., OCFA officials reissued evacuation orders as a precautionary measure, citing “changing conditions.”
At 10:43 a.m., the evacuation zones were updated to north of Trask Ave., south of Ball Rd., east of Valley View St., and west of Dale St.
Street closures continue at Western and Chapman Avenues to allow for the clean-up and investigation.
Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center, Stanton City Hall and Community Center, and Cypress Recreation and Community Center are serving as evacuation centers.
Garden Grove Unified School District officials announced the following schools were closed on Friday due to the chemical leak:
- Barker Elementary School
- Bryant
- Carver
- Enders Elementary School
- Garden Park
- Lawrence Elementary School
- Wakeham Elementary School
- Patton Elementary School
- Bell Intermediate School
- Alamitos Intermediate
- Pacifica High School
- Rancho Alamitos High School
- Skylark Preschool
- Maintenance and Operations Facility
- Lampson Bus Yard
County officials also established a public information hotline at (714) 628-7085.
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