Orange County firefighters continue working to lessen temperature inside comprised tank

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]We begin with the latest in Garden Grove. Fire officials now saying the threat of a massive explosion is over.

[00:00:06]Evacuation orders for around 50,000 residents remain in effect. President Trump has declared it a federal disaster. There will be a news conference with updates tonight at 6.

[00:00:16]>> We have team coverage of the situation in Garden Grove beginning with Michelle Jely and the updates ahead of that news conference. Michelle, >> well, there is still a threat. We do want to emphasize that, but we will hear from firefighters in an hour as to whether some people will be able to start returning to their homes. But I want to stress at this hour at 5:00, there has been no change in the evacuation orders. What is changing, however, is the temperature of that compromised tank. It is dropping.

[00:00:49]Officials tell us there is also a crack in the tank holding that toxic chemical.

[00:00:56]All of these things are positive news.

[00:01:01]>> At least the worst case scenario uh is off the table.

[00:01:05]>> Orange County hazmat officials say the risk of a major explosion at the Garden Grove Aerospace plant has been eliminated. But because danger still exists, evacuations are necessary.

[00:01:16]Again, I would just like to echo what the chief and uh incident commander said, which is until it's somewhere that we would feel comfortable having our own families there, um we don't want to send the community in until we feel that it is safe.

[00:01:30]>> Overnight, a fire crew managed to get close to the tank and remove part of the outer layer so the unmanned stream of water can more directly cool the toxic material inside. Orange County Supervisor Janet Wyn was briefed on the operation. So we were able to now get to the shell and now so our water is now going directly to the tank onto the tank and not just the outer layer >> and the importance of that is >> it then helps bring down the temperature of the tank which then then forces it helping us to make sure that it doesn't explode. Authorities caution though that a smaller explosion is still possible.

[00:02:07]Last week firefighters found a bulge in the tank after the cooling system failed. The tank holds 7,000 gallons of a toxic chemical called methylmethylryate used to manufacture airplane windshields.

[00:02:20]>> The way the chemical is, it has a as it starts to polymerize, it gives off heat.

[00:02:26]Um, and of course with that, uh, is a possibility of the tank still erupting.

[00:02:31]And so operating under just extreme precaution and safety for ourselves and the community is again, like I said, why we're holding to the evacuation orders.

[00:02:39]Around 50,000 people in Garden Grove, Stanton, Buena Park, Westminster, Anaheim, and Cyprus have been kept out of their homes. Fire officials have been making plans in case the chemical spills, which include dikes, dams, and barriers to contain it.

[00:02:56]>> Part of that was just having a containment around the containment around the tank, as well as things to block uh the storm drains as well as uh protecting the waterways.

[00:03:09]Now, the hope is that the president's emergency declaration will bring more help as well as more funds to the area.

[00:03:16]And I also want to point out that there are dozens of monitoring stations monitoring the air here in the evacuated area. And so far, we're being told by the officials that all of the readings are within the normal range. But you can see that the breeze has really started to kick up in the Garden Grove Los Alamos area. We're live at the Los Alamos Racetrack and again that briefing will begin in just under an hour. We'll be bringing it to you live. Back to you.

[00:03:42]We sure will, Michelle. Thank you.