Thousands of Orange County residents remained under evacuation orders Friday after officials warned that a massive storage tank leaking hazardous chemicals at a Garden Grove aerospace facility could potentially rupture or explode.
Fire officials said in a news conference Friday that the situation had escalated significantly overnight and warned that crews had been unable to fully stabilize the overheating 34,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, a volatile and highly flammable industrial chemical.
“This is not precautionary… this thing is gonna fail, and we don’t know when,” said Division Chief Craig Covey during a Friday afternoon press conference. “We’re doing our best to figure out when or how we can prevent it.”
Garden Grove tank hazmat: What to know about chemical leak health risks
The Orange County Fire Authority said around 6:30 a.m. Friday that evacuation orders were being reissued “due to changing conditions” as hazmat crews continued mitigation efforts at the GKN Aerospace facility on Western Avenue in Garden Grove…