WATER is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

UPDATES:
A potentially risky operation by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters on Saturday may have resulted in a “step in the right direction” in solving the danger presented by a possible explosion or major leak of toxic chemicals at tank in a Garden Grove plastics plant.

According to T.J McGovern, interim fire chief for the OCFA, firefighters who entered the area found a crack in the tank.

“Last night was a successful operation for this emerging incident,” he said, on Sunday. “There is going to be a lot more information coming today, as we sit here right now and vet and validate all the information we got last night.”

RED CROSS SHELTER: The American Red Cross has set up a shelter in Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley for those affected by the event.
The location is in the Freedom Hall at 16801 Euclid St, north of Edinger Avenue. It is a “congregate” dormitory shelter with pet animals “co-located” at the shelter. Guests are asked to bring your medication. Unsolicited donations are discouraged.

The chemical crisis on Western Avenue in West Garden Grove continues as public safety crews work to lower the temperatures at a vat at a plastics factory.

Developments include:

• The Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, located at Main and Euclid streets – four miles away from the problem at GKN Aerospace – is continuing at its regular schedule through Monday, although the parade scheduled for Saturday morning was cancelled.

• The mandatory evacuation order has been widened to include an area that would affect up to 60,000 people. Portions of northern Westminster affected now include an area from Valley View Street to Dale Avenue and from Ball Road to Trask Avenue/Vallecito Avenue.

• The California Highway Patrol has closed the following freeway interchanges along the Garden Grove (22) Freeway. They include Trask Boulevard and Beach Boulevard; Hoover Street and Trask Avenue; Goldenwest Street and Trask Avenue; Edwards Street and Trask Avenue; Springdale Street and Iroquois Road; Hoover Street and Benton Avenue; and Springdale Street and Cynthia Drive.

• Bolsa Chica, Goldenwest and Frank Fry parks in Westminster are closed until further notice.
The problem was noted on Thursday and evacuation areas have been widened since. The specific issue is a chemical tank filled with toxic methacrylate which could leak and – in a worst case scenario – explode.