Threat of massive blast eliminated for California chemical leak, officials say

Orange County school districts on Monday announced their plans for the week ahead after more than a dozen Garden Grove Unified School District campuses were closed on Friday due to evacuation orders, with Savanna, Westminster and Cypress school districts following suit.

The plans were announced as uncertainty still surrounds the timetable for the Orange County chemical incident response, and as 50,000 evacuees remain displaced from their homes.

• Garden Grove Unified School District: Officials have announced that impacted campuses will transition to distance learning, and that instructions will be provided from the principal or teachers to students and their families. Those prevented from joining class due to evacuation conditions will not be held responsible as “the safety of our students, staff, and community remains our highest priority,” district officials said.
• Magnolia School District: Robert M. Pyles STEM Academy in Stanton will remain closed in the coming days, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Disaster Resources website. 
• Savanna School District: All campuses, some of which host Summer Academy, were will be closed through Friday. Summer Academy will be delayed by one week and begin on June 1.
• Westminster School District: Fryberger Elementary and Sequoia Elementary schools, both of which are inside the evacuation zone, will be closed until deemed safe by Orange County officials. Students at those campuses will receive online learning instructions beginning on Tuesday. 

In a post to X on Monday afternoon, the Orange County Fire Authority said officials were “re-evaluating” evacuation zones after the threat of a massive explosion at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove was ruled out.

“Due to the threat of the BLEVE being eliminated, Fire & Law are re-evaluating the evacuation zones,” the post reads, referring to a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion event. “Please do NOT enter the evacuation zones at this time.”

It’s not yet clear if any evacuation orders will be lifted.

The OCFA has scheduled a 6 p.m. Pacific Time news conference in Los Alamitos.

United Kingdom-based GKN Aerospace paid nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit with California regulators after the company was accused of emitting toxic or volatile compounds into the air at its Garden Grove facility.

The lawsuit brought by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which provided a copy of the 2024 settlement agreement to CBS LA, stemmed from a variety of alleged violations by GKN, including a failure to obtain appropriate permits.

South Coast AQMD alleged that the GKN Aerospace site was the source of emissions of VOCs or volatile organic compounds. Methyl methacrylate, the substance inside the tank at the center of the chemical incident at the Garden Grove site, is a VOC. However, the settlement does not specify if methyl methacrylate was the VOC allegedly emitted at the GKN site in violation of California regulations.

GKN agreed to pay $909,935 to South Coast AQMD by January 6, 2025.

CBS LA reached out to GKN for comment on the settlement, but was directed to the company’s website for a statement. The statement on the website addressed the current ongoing crisis, but not the settlement.

The Orange County Register first reported the settlement on Saturday.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced on Saturday that his office had launched an investigation into the company after the crisis began.

“For goodness’ sake, they’re in the middle of a commercial area, residential, it’s an urban population. … It’s irresponsible, it’s horrific, and I’m angry about it,” Spitzer said in an interview. “I’m gonna channel my anger to continue to protect the public. … Tonight, we are not getting satisfactory answers. But in the future, I can assure you we will.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that President Trump had approved the state’s request for a federal emergency declaration in Orange County.

The approval will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to “direct federal assistance with personnel, equipment, and other specialized resources to support life-saving response,” according to Newsom’s office.

“California didn’t wait for this situation to escalate — we moved early, aggressively, and in close partnership with local responders to protect lives and support impacted communities,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are grateful for the federal government approving our request and helping strengthen the resources already on the ground to help this community recover safely.”

According to FEMA, a Presidential Emergency Declaration differs from a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration in that it provides preemptive and protective action, while the latter provides assistance after a disaster causes significant damage.

An Orange County Fire Authority spokesperson on Monday qualified an earlier update provided by officials, noting that although the threat of a massive explosion has been ruled out at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, the potential exists that a smaller blast could occur at the site of the chemical incident. 

While the risk of a worst-case scenario BLEVE, or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion, has been “eliminated,” according to OCFA Interim Chief TJ McGovern, an agency spokesperson said the remaining flammable material in the tank still has the potential to burn and ignite.

On Friday, OCFA Incident Commander and Division Chief Craig Covey said officials had determined there were two possible outcomes for a tank containing methyl methacrylate that was “actively in crisis.”

“There are literally two options left remaining: One, the tank fails and spills a total of about [6,000] to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot and that area,” Covey said. “Or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around it that have fuel or chemicals in them as well.” 

Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern said evacuation zones were “still in play” as of Monday morning following a determination by officials that the Garden Grove chemical tank was no longer at risk of exploding.

“Please abide by those evacuation zones,” he said. 

The situation at the site of the chemical incident remains active, said OCFA spokesperson Nick Garton, who noted that he could not provide information as to when when evacueees would be allowed to return to their homes.

“I don’t have a hard timeline but I can say this was a huge step in the right direction toward getting a resolution there,” Garton said of Sunday’s overnight operation to determine pressure inside the compromised tank containing methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable, toxic substance used to produce plastics.

About 50,000 residents remain evacuated with officials emphasizing that the threat of a toxic leak still remains a possibility.

Orange County Fire Authority public information officer Nick Garton said the agency was weighing options Monday morning as it decides on next steps following a determination that the compromised chemical tank was no longer at risk for explosion.

“They are still working on all sorts of different plans, depending on the variables that they’re dealt with, as far as the temperature and the chemical itself,” he said.

Crews are waiting until nightfall to continue work on the tank, as higher temperatures present greater risk. Internal temperatures on the tank cannot be read via drone, Garton said.

“As we continue to monitor that temperature with the sun and the ambient temperatures during the day, hopefully it continues to trend in the right direction,” Garton said. “We anticipate it doing so and then we can form some more concrete timelines to get people back home, people back into their businesses.”

The threat of toxic chemicals leaking out of the tank at the center of the Garden Grove hazmat incident is still possible, according to Orange County Fire Authority public information officer Nick Garton.

“It’s still a potential,” Garton told CBS LA on Monday after officials announced that the threat of an explosion at the site had been eliminated. “We’re trying to confirm that there’s still a liquid form of this chemical that could potentially leak out.”

Garton made it clear that there is no active leak, but said additional cracks could potentially form at the bottom of the tank. As pressure continues to lower, however, so do the chances of cracks forming, he said.

OCFA Incident Commander Craig Covey warned the public on Friday that the spillage of “a total of about [6,000] to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot and that area” was one of two possibilities that could result from the tank failing. The other possibility, he said, was a catastrophic blast known as a BLEVE incident, or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.

Orange County Fire Authority Incident Commander and Division Chief Craig Covey said “risk management” reasons prevented offials from providing more frequent updates on the tank’s internal temperature over the weekend.

“The risk management to our firefighters’ safety was first and foremost,” he said on Monday. “We were not doing tank temperature checks during the day while the sun was on it in the most extreme conditions for that tank to go the wrong direction. We were only doing tank temperatures at night.”

He said OCFA crews used the daytime hours to work on other objectives. 

“That’s why there were delays in getting you guys that information, because we didn’t want to put our members in harm’s way,” Covey said.

Orange County officials responding to a California chemical leak announced on Monday morning that the threat of a BLEVE, or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion, has been eliminated after an overnight operation.

“We are happy to report that the threat of a BLEVE is now off the table,” Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern said. “That threat has been eliminated.”

In a post on X, McGovern and OCFA Incident Commander and Division Chief Craig Covey said crews confirmed a crack on the tank, which led to a pressure release. The tank’s internal temperature has decreased from 100 degrees to 93 degrees.

“That is incredibly positive news as we turn the corner on this incident,” Covey said.

A White House official told CBS News on Monday that the Trump administration “is engaged and monitoring the situation in Garden Grove,” noting that federal resources were assisting with the response.

“The U.S. EPA has integrated with the local Unified Command composed of state and local agencies, and has enabled air monitoring at 20 locations around the area,” the White House official said. “FEMA has deployed a Liaison Officer to coordinate with officials and has also deployed a team to the State Emergency Operation Center to support incident contingency planning. FEMA has also activated the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center to provide plume modeling of airborne hazards, informing incident leadership and contingency planning.” 

Gov. Gavin Newsom asked President Trump on Sunday for a federal emergency declaration. U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Orange County Rep. Derek Tran, and local officials including Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, wrote Mr. Trump in support of the request.

On Saturday, Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency for the Orange County chemical incident, leading to the deployment of nearly 800 first responders and experts to assist local agencies in Garden Grove. Emergency personnel working to respond to the crisis include firefighters, law enforcement, hazmat teams, scientists, toxicologists, engineers, and public health and sheltering experts. 

Tens of thousands of Orange County residents in the communities of Garden Grove, Buena Park, Anaheim, Stanton, Westminster and Cypress have been under mandatory evacuation orders since Friday afternoon as officials worked to mitigate the chemical incident emergency at GKN Aerospace. 

Nearly 10 shelters have been opened across the region, many of which have reached or are nearing capacity and straining the resources provided by Red Cross volunteers. Local officials have worked to facilitate the opening of additional shelters as necessary, with two new sites opening on Sunday, including one at the Orange County Fairgrounds for evacuees in RVs. 

On Sunday, California State Parks officials advised those displaced from their homes that they cannot stay at state parks overnight, including at Bolsa Chica State Park in Huntington Beach. In a post to X, parks officials said that their parking lots and parks were not equipped to accommodate the needs of evacuees. 

Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief TJ McGovern said in a post to X on Sunday evening that crews were preparing for an “all-night mission” to test the pressure of the tank at the center of the chemical leak, which contains methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable substance used in the production of plastics. McGovern said crews hoped to determine if a BLEVE threat, or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion, had been eliminated after a crack was discovered in the tank. 

“The BLEVE threat is the worst-case catastrophic event that we’ve been talking about,” McGovern said. “We are not there yet; we need to run this operation tonight.”

Earlier Sunday, McGovern said that he was hopeful additional tests would lead to the reduction of evacuation zones, but stipulated that such a decision would not be made until officials were absolutely certain that it was safe for the public to return to the area.