on thursday evening, a storage tank at an aerospace manufacturing facility in garden grove, california began to overheat.
by sunday, 50,000 people had been evacuated from their homes. california’s governor had declared a state of emergency. FEMA had deployed to the scene. and firefighters were running nighttime recon missions in full hazmat gear just to get close enough to look at the tank.
the california chemical tank explosion garden grove situation is one of the most serious industrial emergencies in southern california in recent memory. and it has been dramatically underreported.
What Is Happening at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove
the facility at the center of this emergency is GKN aerospace transparency a british-owned company that manufactures landing gear components, cockpit transparencies, and other aerospace parts. it is located in garden grove, a city in orange county approximately 30 miles south of los angeles.
on thursday may 22, a storage tank at the facility began overheating. the tank holds approximately 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate a highly toxic, highly flammable chemical used to manufacture resins, plastics, and products including plexiglass.
as the tank overheated it began venting vapors into the surrounding air. the orange county fire authority responded and immediately recognized the severity of the situation.
by friday morning, orange county fire authority division chief craig covey stood in front of cameras and delivered a statement that should have been front page news across the country.
“this thing is going to fail. and we don’t know when.”
What Methyl Methacrylate Actually Does
to understand the california chemical tank explosion garden grove threat, you need to understand what methyl methacrylate does when it reacts uncontrollably.
methyl methacrylate MMA is a clear, colorless liquid with a strong fruity odor. it is highly volatile and releases energy exothermically when it reacts. that means when it starts reacting, it generates its own heat, which accelerates the reaction, which generates more heat, which accelerates it further.
in an enclosed container, that runaway reaction builds pressure. if the pressure builds faster than the container can vent it, the result is what engineers call a BLEVE a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.
a BLEVE is not a small explosion. it is a catastrophic, instantaneous release of energy as a superheated liquid flashes to vapor. it sends shrapnel in all directions. it creates a massive fireball. it can affect areas far beyond the immediate facility.
in october 2009, a similar chemical reaction at a resin manufacturing site in the united kingdom caused an explosion that was heard miles away and caused significant structural damage to nearby buildings.
the GKN aerospace tank in garden grove holds 7,000 gallons. there are additional tanks at the same facility containing other chemicals and fuel. an uncontrolled explosion would affect all of them.
The Evacuation and the State of Emergency
the orange county fire authority ordered evacuations on friday as it became clear the tank was not going to cool down. the initial evacuation zone covered approximately 40,000 residents.
by saturday, the zone had expanded. approximately 50,000 residents of garden grove and surrounding communities are now under mandatory evacuation orders. evacuation centers have been established across garden grove, cypress, stanton, anaheim, and buena park.
more than a dozen schools have temporarily closed. multiple roads have been blocked off, disrupting transportation routes throughout the area. residents who have not evacuated have been urged repeatedly by officials to leave.
california governor gavin newsom declared a state of emergency in orange county on saturday, unlocking additional state resources and accelerating the FEMA response. the federal emergency management agency has deployed personnel and is coordinating shelter availability.
in an update early sunday, FEMA confirmed that a malfunctioning valve on the tank “remains unmitigated as the chemical reaction continues without a way to neutralize it.” two additional tanks at the facility have been affected but were assessed as structurally sound.
What Happened Sunday Night
the most significant development in the california chemical tank explosion garden grove situation came sunday.
fire authority recon teams conducted a nighttime mission to visually inspect the tank at close range. what they found was a potential crack in the tank wall which interim fire chief TJ mcgovern said may actually be releasing some of the pressure buildup.
“what they found was a potential crack in the tank which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure,” mcgovern said sunday afternoon. “we are now vetting and validating that new information.”
a second recon mission was planned for sunday night to confirm the findings. mcgovern said if the data was positive they would likely decrease the size of the evacuation zone in the coming days.
but he was explicit about where things stood.
“the BLEVE threat is the worst case catastrophic event that we have been talking about. we are not there yet.”
not there yet is very different from resolved.
How Close Is This to Disneyland
the GKN aerospace facility is located in the southeastern corner of garden grove. it is approximately 5 miles from disneyland in anaheim and approximately 4 miles from knott’s berry farm in buena park.
both theme parks are outside the current evacuation zone.
disneyland and knott’s berry farm both told media they are “actively monitoring the situation” and are “focused on guests’ and employees’ well-being and safety.” both parks remained open through the memorial day weekend.
the fact that two of america’s most visited tourist destinations are within 5 miles of a potentially catastrophic chemical explosion has received almost no coverage in national media.
California Chemical Tank Explosion Garden Grove What Happens Next
emergency crews were conducting another nighttime recon mission as of sunday evening. if the crack in the tank is confirmed to be safely venting pressure, officials may begin reducing the evacuation zone.
if the crack is not safely venting or if the reaction inside the tank accelerates the situation remains what it has been since friday: a 7,000 gallon tank of explosive chemical that officials have explicitly said is going to fail, surrounded by 50,000 evacuated residents, 5 miles from disneyland, with no confirmed method of neutralization.
orange county fire division chief covey said it plainly on friday: “letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us.”
that was three days ago. the tank has not been neutralized.
follow this blog for updates as the situation in garden grove develops.
