Orange County fire authority orders massive new evacuations across Garden Grove Stanton Cypress and Buena Park

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Orange County Fire Authority issued mass evacuation orders after a chemical storage tank at a GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove started failing.

The tank reportedly holds about 34,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical officials fear could explode. Large parts of Garden Grove, Stanton, Cypress, Buena Park, Anaheim, and Westminster are now under evacuation orders, with schools shut down and shelters opening for residents.

Garden Grove chemical leak: Evacuations, closures, shelters

  • A failing 34,000-gallon chemical tank in Garden Grove has triggered major evacuations across parts of Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton and Anaheim, with officials unable to say when residents can safely return.
  • The evacuation zone runs from Ball Road to Trask Avenue and Valley View Street to Dale Street; Beach Boulevard is shut, and numerous Garden Grove schools and facilities are closed.
  • Fire crews worked overnight to stop methyl methacrylate from leaking, but a frozen valve and pump failures left the unstable tank “actively in crisis,” forcing extended hazardous-materials operations.