JOANNE LUI with three of her cats evacuated from the West Garden Grove area at the Garden Grove Recreation Center, which was the evacuation center (Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

One of the most dangerous environmental crises in local history remains unresolved, casting a shadow of unknown danger over several cities in West Orange County.

As many as 40,000 people are under evacuation orders in western parts of Garden Grove due to a toxic chemical leak that also threatens parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster.

The nexus of the danger is a 34,000-gallon tank at the GKN Aerospace facility on Western Avenue in West Garden Grove.

The accidental release of toxic gasses discovered on Thursday triggered an evacuation order which was rescinded when the leak had been been thought to be repaired.

However, according to the Orange County Fire Authority, on Friday, a faulty valve and failure to neutralize the chemical inside the tank raised the danger level and expanded the evacuation area.

The tank could fail and release thousands of toxic chemicals or simply explode, said OCFA Chief Craig Covey.
At a press conference in Los Alamitos, he said, when the “tank is going into thermal runaway, we’re going to pull everyone out of the area, make sure it’s safe and let the tank do what it’s going to do.”

The evacuations sent thousands of residents to out-of-the area motels and hotels, to the houses of friends or relatives, or to the evacuation centers with pets and small pieces of luggage.

Side effects were to postpone or cancel the Strawberry Festival parade in Garden Grove as well as snarl traffic by closing a portion of Beach Boulevard, one of Orange County’s busiest roadways.