Story by: Ivan Villa, Staff Writer
Photo by Angel Martinez, Sports Editor
City officials are expanding evacuation orders for Garden Grove, Stanton, parts of Anaheim and Cypress area due to a toxic, flammable and self heating substance that started leaking Thursday, May 21.
According to a post on X from the Orange County Fire Authority, around 3:22 p.m. firefighters responded to an aerospace manufacturing company in Garden Grove.
OCFA stated it was a vapor release from a 34,000-gallon tank that contains methyl, methacrylate and industrial chemicals used in plastics and manufacturing. Evacuations were initially issued yesterday to try to contain the situation, but officials later lifted the evacuation around 8 p.m.
As of Friday morning, officials have reissued the evacuation orders due to major changes in the conditions of the tanks. The orders have expanded to the surrounding areas of Garden Grove, including parts of Cypress.
According to a video posted by the Garden Grove Police Department, there are two options left: the tank fails and spills a total of 6,000 to 7,000 gallons, or the tanks go into thermal runaway and combust affecting the surrounding tanks.
The evacuation orders are increasing as they receive new information. According to the GGPD, there are no active gas leaks
At the 2 p.m. press conference, Garden Grove city officials stated about 40,000 people were affected by the evacuation orders and about 15% of the evacuees were refusing to evacuate.
Garden Grove City officials are encouraging the public to evacuate the area and they are reminding people there are street closures around the impacted areas.
According to NBC 4, the following areas are under evacuation orders: north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View Street and west of Dale Street. An emergency hotline was established at 714-741-5444.
The Governor’s office of Emergency Services also known as Cal OES is monitoring the ongoing situation and has activated the State Operations Center.
Evacuation centers are open at the Garden Grove Sports & Recreation Center located at 13641 Deodara Dr., Garden Grove, CA 92844, and Cypress Community Center located at 5700 Orange Ave., Cypress, CA 90630 and Savannah High School located at 301 N. Gilbert St., Anaheim, CA 92801.
Visual By: Kevin Sablan, Orange County Register
This is a developing story.
