Thousands evacuated in Southern California due to failing chemical tank

Firefighters have doused the tanks with water using a mechanical device that kept humans at a safe distance, stabilising the temperature

A drone picture shows water being sprayed on a tank as a chemical incident involving a failing tank of flammable liquid called methyl methacrylate, used in the aerospace industry, has forced an evacuation in the surrounding area in Garden Grove, California, US May, 22, 2026. REUTERS/ Caroline Brehman

Officials ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes in the Los Angeles suburb of Garden Grove on Friday due to a failing chemical tank that was likely to either leak or explode, possibly releasing toxic vapour into the air, first responders said.

Firefighters doused the tanks with water using a mechanical device that kept humans at a safe distance, stabilising the temperature and "buying us time," said Craig Covey, division chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, in a video posted on social media.

In a previous video, Covey had said there were two options remaining, either that the tank would fail and spill up to 7,000 gallons (26,500 litres) of toxic chemicals, or that it would explode and endanger neighbouring tanks.

"I know I keep talking about we were handed this situation where there's only two things that can happen, it could crack and leak, or it could blow up. That's not acceptable to us,"

Covey said in the later video. "I have an entire team actively working locally, regionally, across the state, and across the country, to try to figure out how to fix this."

Covey said his goal was to "get all these brilliant minds together to put a plan together, so that we don't let this blow up."

The malfunctioning tank contained methyl methacrylate, a flammable, volatile chemical used in plastics and manufacturing at an aerospace plant, the Orange County Register reported.

The situation, which began on Thursday, unfolded in Garden Grove, a city of about 172,000 people some 30 miles (50 km) south of Los Angeles.

Officials discovered the increased risk of an explosion on Friday after getting an update from the manufacturing company, said TJ McGovern, interim chief of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Officials established three evacuation shelters, one in Garden Grove and one each in the neighbouring cities of Anaheim and Cypress.

The evacuation zone was home to about 40,000 people, Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said, as reported by the Orange County Register, and about 15% of them were refusing to leave, he said.

Health officials were concerned that vapour could escape with the potential of causing severe respiratory issues in the event of prolonged exposure. But so far air quality monitors had not detected any vapour, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong of the Orange County Health Care Agency.

"You are safe as long as you are out of the zone that was determined to be an evacuation zone," Chinsio-Kwong said.