LIVE: Garden Grove chemical crisis reaches 6th day
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Emergency crews continue to work around the clock to prevent a chemical plant in Garden Grove from leaking or exploding, with an estimated 50,000 Orange County residents under evacuation orders.
Tuesday marks Day 6 of crews responding to GKN Aerospace after one of its chemical tanks overheated to dangerous levels.
See the latest updates below.
Evacuated OC residents begin returning home
6 a.m.: Thousands of residents are returning to their homes on Tuesday, after authorities eased evacuation orders for a majority of the 50,000 people who were told to leave because of a failing toxic chemical tank in Garden Grove.
The reduction of the evacuation zone to an area about 65% smaller allowed around 34,000 to get back into their residences.
The Orange County Fire Authority said the temperature within the tank had dropped from 100 degrees to 93 degrees in an overnight reading, and a crack in the tank had helped ease pressure.
Chemical crisis: 16K remain under evacuation orders in OC
Authorities say the threat of a massive chemical explosion has been "eliminated."
SCHOOL CLOSURES
The following Garden Grove Unified schools within the evacuation zones will remain closed Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday:
- Alamitos Intermediate
- Barker Elementary
- Bryant Elementary
- Bell Intermediate
- Carver Early Childhood Education Center
- Enders Elementary
- Garden Park Elementary
- Lawrence Elementary
- Pacifica High School
- Patton Elementary
- Rancho Alamitos High School
- Wakeham Elementary
EVACUATIONS
The current mandatory evacuation zone forms a one-mile buffer around the facility, encompassing parts of Garden Grove, Westminster, and Anaheim.
The boundaries cover the following areas:
- North of: Trask Avenue
- South of: Ball Road
- East of: Valley View Street
- West of: Dale Street
The backstory:
The incident began on Thursday, May 21 at GKN Aerospace on Western Avenue in Garden Grove.
That's where a 34,000-gallon storage tank containing methyl methacrylate (MMA), a toxic, highly flammable liquid chemical used to manufacture acrylic plastics, began to overheat.
During the earlier stages of the investigation, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Division Chief Craig Covey said a faulty valve on the tank prevented crews from off-loading or introducing a neutralizing stabilizer into the chemical material.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: