Breaking News: Orange County officials are giving an update on the Garden Grove chemical tank leak

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]existing agencies. We appreciate you all being here today.

[00:00:04]For updated information, please continue to follow OC Fire Authority on X.

[00:00:08]Additionally, a public information hotline has been established and the number is 714-6287085.

[00:00:18]This afternoon, there will be five speakers with a brief time for questions at the end. Today's speakers are Orange County Fire Authority Interim Fire Chief TJ McGovern, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Unified Incident Commander Craig Kovi, Garden Grove Police Department Chief and Unified Incident Commander Amir El Farara, City of Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Cloffenstein, and Orange County Supervisor Janet Wyn. Chief McGovern.

[00:00:50]>> Thank you, Captain Barta. Good afternoon. TJ McGovern, interim fire chief, Orange County Fire Authority.

[00:00:56]Thank you all for being here as we work in unified command with our partners for keeping our community safe. Yesterday afternoon, the Orange County Fire Authority responded to a chemical incident in Garden Grove on Western Avenue.

[00:01:10]It was involving a vapor release from a tank containing an industrial chemical used in plastic and manufacturing.

[00:01:19]One of the three tanks affected experienced an increase in temperature activating a relief valve and overhead sprinkler system to cool the product.

[00:01:32]OCFA resources were on scene in less than 6 minutes with a robust hazardous material response. initial actions were the safety of our people, of the life of our communities, supporting the systems that the uh building already had in play with unstaffed ground monitors, and that was due to the safety risk of our first responders and the people in the vicinity. As precautions, nearby neighborhoods in Garden Grove and Stanton were evacuated throughout the day. vapor conditions improved and evacuation orders were lifted. After the evacuation orders were lifted, the facility industrial crews continued to make progress towards uh the removal and the containment of the product. However, due to a damaged valve on the tank, it created additional operational challenges preventing complete mitigation efforts. With these new circumstances, we modified our operational plan and response plan and OCFA incident commander Chief Craig Kovi will share additional details on what that additional operational plan was. We understand how disruptive and frightening this is to the public and our communities, particular for the residents who have been asked to leave their homes for their own safety.

[00:03:00]Hazardous material incidents can evolve quickly and unpredictably and so did our response. When our initial crews recognized what was going on, the citizens and the communities, that was their priority, make sure they were protected.

[00:03:15]Together, we will all get through this to keep our communities safe and we will do our best to get those residents that were evacuated back in their homes when the incident is mitigated and it's safe to do that. It is our community's interest to keep them safe and out of harm's way. Thank you for all being here. Thank you for your support. And with that, I'm going to give it to our incident commander, Chief Craig Kovi.

[00:03:46]Thank you, Chief McGovern. As you said, my name is Craig Kovy. I'm the incident commander and a division chief with Orange County Fire. I'm also the incident commander of Orange County Fire's Incident Management Team 1. on behalf of the unified incident commanded team uh which includes members from uh Anaheim Fire Department, Garden Grove Police Department, Cypress Police Department, Anaheim Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department, and Orange County Healthcare Agency. Each of those agencies has one member as part of the unified command so that we can all work in collaboration to mitigate this incident as quickly as possible. So to to go a little bit beyond what Chief McGovern expressed. So these tanks, there's three of them there. The tank that is the most compromised and in crisis currently has, we estimate somewhere around 7,000 gallons of this chemical left in it. The other two tanks, one of them we were able to induce a uh agent to neutralize it and we've secured its volatility. The other tank we had not been able to do that as well, but it is not in crisis like the the primary tank. That tank when it heated up on the first day actually bulged. It got to a point where it did it does what we call a blevy, which is a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. If you ever seen videos of tank cars on a railroad track blowing up and that fireball it puts out and it blows half the tank car a half a mile down the train track, that's the incident potential we are dealing with if this if this suffers a catastrophic failure. That's why in an abundance of caution, we have reissued the evacuation and after continued information getting in from our hazmat team on scene, we increased the safety zone and this is why uh the manufacturer has a response team. They work together with us to go in and mitigate that. We had initial really good success after we cooled those tanks down with the sprinkler system and our host streams. But while they were trying to unload all those things and neutralize them, put the chemicals in to neutralize them, they discovered the primary tank that's in crisis, we were unable to access the valves. The valves are broken. They're gummed up uh with the agent and we're unable to offload the material uh through the systems that it has. So that's the point we're at. They advised us. They have tried everything that they can and there's nothing else they are capable of doing to mitigate that tank that's in crisis. So we have assembled a team to think outside the box. Our hazmat teams from in county and with the healthcare agency are calling people all over the state and the country to get together with ideas how we can safely go in there and depressurize a pressurized tank and mitigate the exposure that it has. What we were told by the manufacturers's tech rep is that essentially we're at two current options and outcomes of this tank. One, it fails and cracks and all the product leaks out onto the ground. Now, we've we've created containment barriers in anticipation of that. That's roughly 7,000 gallons of liquid going out on the ground. We've contain we've made sand barriers. We've done our efforts to mitigate it from getting into the storm drains and the river channels and into our oceans that we know are close. Um, so in in a in a weird world, that's the best case scenario, believe it or not, because once it comes out, it is no longer an explosive hazard. And our hazmat teams in their chemical protective suits can go in, neutralize, and mitigate the vapors that will be coming off of that. the plume that will come off of that leak. We'll be able to get in there and secure it, mitigate it, and return this community. The other option that was told to us is that it blows up. That was what we were handed, a leaking tank or a tank that blows up.

[00:07:41]That's why we extended the evacuation today in an overabundance of caution.

[00:07:46]This is highly volatile. It's highly toxic and it's highly flammable. So, um, we put out the message earlier. I cannot emphasize this is not precautionary.

[00:07:59]This is going to happen unless some brilliant guy behind me here figures out how we can mitigate this incident. This thing is going to fail. We don't know when. I know everybody wants to know how long we're going to have them out of the house. I don't have an answer to you on that. At some point, this is going to fail and we're doing our best to figure out the when or how we can prevent it.

[00:08:19]But at this point the only two options that are facing us only plan is out there is this thing failing and we react and mitigate what kind of failure occurs. Again right now there is no active gas leak coming off that thing.

[00:08:34]We have cooled it down enough that the purge valve that is on top of it is no longer purging any kind of uh uh product from the liquids there. So the community is safe. There's nothing in the air right now. But to ensure that we have active monitoring around the area to ensure we're not uh something is going out there that we're not aware of. We're monitoring the temperature of the tank with drones constantly trying to validate what the exterior temperature is. And then we also have a set temperature where when it reaches that point, we know the tank is going into thermal runaway. And we're going to pull everybody out of the area, make sure it's safe, and let the tank do what it's going to do. I appreciate you all being out here. It's really important for us to community uh to communicate out to our communities. This has been an incredibly evolving, dynamic incident all night. Last night, I actually went home for a little bit thinking we got this thing going in the right direction.

[00:09:30]Got woken up at 4 in the morning going, "Nope. Uh it's gone the wrong direction now." So, this is very serious. This is this evacuation needs to be paid attention to. People need to get out of their houses and get into a safe space because when this thing goes, depending on where the wind direction it's going, we cannot control the weather. We cannot control it. So that's why we put a uh evacuation circle that's going to take an effect no matter which way the wind is blowing at that time. Okay. So, thank you for your support and getting this message out to your communities.

[00:10:05]>> Good afternoon. Thank you for being here. I'm Police Chief Amir Al Faro with the Garden Grove Police Department. I will tell you this is a large-scale event and our evacuation zone is quite large. Cities that have been impacted is Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, Westminster. We have worked closely with our partners at OC Sheriff's Office and their mobile field force configuration to assist in those evacuations as well as our allied partners and adjoining cities nearby.

[00:10:34]The evacuation area consists of Ball Street to the north, Tras Avenue to the south, Dale to the east, and Valley View Boulevard to the west. This is a large-scale operation that is drawing a lot of resources so we can continue to make sure our community is being safe at this time. Those who have been impacted in our community by this evacuation zone, we have several several evacuation centers set up for you. The first being at Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center located at 13641 Diodara Drive. That's in Garden Grove, California 92844.

[00:11:11]The second one is in the city of Cypress at 5700 Orange Avenue, Cypress, California 9063.

[00:11:21]I would just like to tell our community this is a significant event for us, somewhat unprecedented. Please adhere to that evacuation orders. From a law enforcement and fire perspective, our highest priority is your safety and security. So, please listen to what we're telling you. We have multiple outlets posting updated information on social media platforms as well as through our partners in the media. So, we appreciate you and thank you for being here to get that message out.

[00:11:48]Thank you.

[00:11:54]>> Good afternoon, everyone. I'm mayor of Garden Grove Stephanie Kloenstein.

[00:11:57]You've just heard from OCFA and the Garden Grove Police Department about the seriousness of this incident and the steps being taken to protect the community. My message to our residents, businesses, and employees in the affected area is direct. Please follow all evacuation orders, road closures, and instructions from emergency personnel. We understand that this is frightening. We understand that people are worried about their homes, their businesses, their pets, and their loved ones. But the evacuation orders are in place for your safety. The city's priority is to protect life and keep people out of harm's way. We want to get everyone's home uh reopened in the area as soon as possible, but we also have a due diligence to make sure that we determine if it is safe first. To those who have evacuated and cooperated with public safety instructions, thank you.

[00:12:43]Your cooperation is helping first responders focus on the incident and the work that they do to keep us safe. To everyone still in evacuation areas, please leave immediately. This is a serious situation and now it is not the time to wait. Please leave now. The city of Garden Grove has also opened a 24-hour call center for community members who need information and assistance. The number is 714741-5444.

[00:13:12]That's 714741-544.

[00:13:17]The latest updates are also available at ggcity.org/emergency.

[00:13:22]I want to thank OCFA, the Garden Police Department, city staff, and all mutual aid agencies for working under difficult and dangerous conditions to protect our community. And I want to thank you for your patience, cooperation, and care for one another as this response continues.

[00:13:36]At this time, you'll now hear from Supervisor Janet W.

[00:13:42]>> Thank you, Mayor.

[00:13:44]First and foremost, my thoughts are with every residents, family, and students impacted by this incident. I grew up in this community, so this is personal to me. I want you to know that I, the county, and AQMD are committed to making sure you are safe, informed, and supported through every step of this situation. As your county supervisor and as a governing board member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, I want residents to know that agency at every level are actively coordinating to protect your safety and health.

[00:14:16]Emergency responders remain on scene, working to working to safely contain the incident and evacuation orders remain in place. We urge all residents to continue following all instruction and emergency personnel. Dr. CK, our county health officer, county hazmat team from HCA, the county healthcare agency, have been working alongside South Coast Air Quality Management on site to support the first responders. AQMD has deployed equipments to measure air quality and wind in real time. This will help emergency responder assess conditions and make informed decisions. Right now, the current monitoring shows that the air quality is within typical levels. We will continue monitoring for any changes. We are grateful to the agency and organization working hard to keep residents informed as the situation develops. Clear, timely, and accurate information is critical during emergency, and we appreciate the continued efforts to provide updates to the community. I want to thank the Orange County Fire Authority, City of Garden Grove, the Garden Grove Police Department, County Healthc Care Agency, the Sheriff's Department, AQMD, the US EPA, the governor, CO EOS, and all the responding agency for their prompt response and coordinating efforts during this incident. We will continue doing everything we can to support and take care of our residents. Updates will continue to be shared as information becomes available. Thank you.

[00:15:46]Okay, thank you to all of our speakers.

[00:15:48]Uh, we're now going to open it up for questions. Michelle, >> can I ask you please to explain to the public what is this chemical? How toxic is it? What happens if there are fumes in the air? What if there's an explosion? I mean, could people die if they breathe these fumes in?

[00:16:06]>> Okay, the question was regarding what type of what the chemical is and what the potential impacts are.

[00:16:12]Thank you, Michelle. I figured that question would come up. And remember what I said, I have a whole bunch of really smart people behind me. I'm going to introduce Division Chief uh Nick Freeman here. He's our hazmat program manager uh and has got multiple years in in hazmat emergency response and he's got a lot of information for you.

[00:16:32]>> Uh good afternoon, out. My name is Nick Freeman. I'm division chief of the Orange County Fire Authority. Uh to the question, the product involved Thank you. is methylmethaate.

[00:16:44]Uh it is a highly toxic as previously stated uh substance. So it can impact respiratory system, cause skin irritation, eye irritation. Uh the other concern we have is it's extremely flammable and in its current state very reactive and can cause that explosion which is why we have that hard perimeter in place.

[00:17:06]>> All right, next question. Bianca.

[00:17:15]evac.

[00:17:23]>> So the question was how many people are impacted and have had to evacuate and how have the notifications been going out and are they cooperating? Chief Alara, >> thank you for that question. So right now we believe an estimate of about 40,000 people impacted in the evacuation area. Uh as far as the cooperation levels um we are tracking that. Um we are experiencing about a 15% 15 refusal rate. Um as far as how we are getting the messaging out, we've done a 911 reverse call to everyone in that evacuation area, social media post.

[00:18:01]We're constantly updating it and getting that messaging out so it is out there.

[00:18:05]If people are paying attention, but this is where we need our community to really come together. This is where we need our partners in the media to get that information out. Tell your neighbors what's going on if they haven't been paying attention. And we are uh monitoring sensitive locations for any additional needs and resources that we can put that way. Thank you.

[00:18:25]>> I don't have an answer for you on that.

[00:18:27]So, we're going to this is a dynamic situation and um we're going to be hopeful that we can resolve this quickly, but everyone needs to take the safety measures that are in place from their local public safety offices and adhere to those so they can make sure that they and their families are completely safe. Thank you.

[00:18:48]>> All right, ma'am.

[00:18:50]>> Yeah, I have two questions. One is you guys were talking about a failed valve.

[00:18:55]How does that uh factor into this? Like you guys, does that mean it couldn't offload properly and that's why you guys couldn't get it out of there on time and that's what's creating this whole issue?

[00:19:06]And then the second question I had was we were hearing from residents that police were telling them that birds were found dead nearby. Do you guys have you heard about that at all?

[00:19:15]>> So So first let's address the valve question you had. So you were wondering the impacts of the valve and how that impacted operations.

[00:19:23]>> Chief Freeman.

[00:19:27]Yeah. So to the question of the valve, uh there are multiple valves on this tank. Uh while we were doing the transferring uh process and also trying to introduce a stabilizer into the tank to uh take away the concern, it was identified that there was no flow going back and forth between the tank.

[00:19:44]Basically meaning there's some form of inclusion in the valves and we are unable to get anything out and we are unable to get anything in to stabilize these tanks.

[00:19:56]question it could have healthwise. Can you expand on that? Like what kind of symptoms if it gets in the air, people start breathing it in, what kind of symptoms could you start seeing and could it overload the emergency system?

[00:20:09]>> So that's a good question. Uh as far as symptomology, uh as I previously stated, respiratory is our primary concern. So it's a respiratory irritant. So it can start off very mild uh but it can progress to a point where yes you would probably require hospitalization if not more. The other indicators uh more early on are going to be skin and eye irritation uh that might be felt by uh anybody that is exposed uh should there be a release or >> both you'll have you have the potential if we have a major release for an acute uh impact and then if there is a prolonged release there could be a a chronic impact uh depending on what occurs in this incident.

[00:20:53]for some additional information on the health impact. We're going to invite County Health Officer Dr. CK up. She can provide a little more context.

[00:21:01]>> Yes. Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for being here. As stated is very important for everybody to heed the instructions to evacuate. If you were told so, please evacuate. So, what we know about methylmeth methylacryate, which I'm going to refer to as MMA, is that it is a chemical that is very toxic. What we know in terms of human health is that we have very limited case reports of exposure. And when you have limited short-term exposure, meaning maybe you inhaled some of the vapor, it can cause significant irritation in the lungs, the nasal passages, and um it can also cause nausea. It can also cause dizziness at very high levels. It can really cause severe respiratory distress and hospitalization. And this is where we really need everybody to heed all of the evacuation orders. Um, in terms of long-term consequence, long-term consequence, it will affect other organs. In terms of the birds and different animals, different animals are affected differently. Again, I'm working with EPA and South Coast AQMD, different specialists to provide more information.

[00:22:09]And again, the reason why the evacuation zone was expanded was to take into consideration the potential of a plume.

[00:22:17]Um, so again, if you're in the area that and you were told to evacuate, please evacuate.

[00:22:30]>> So those are animal studies. In terms of the human effect, we don't know the long-term consequence, but already if it has that type of effect in mice, it can have the same effect in humans.

[00:22:40]>> Very limited cases reported. Does that mean that there's possible shortage of like knowledge on this for treatment wise?

[00:22:48]>> Yes, we're in a this is a unique situation. We don't have information of a similar situation where this happened, right? So, we are we're going into unique times and we have limited information. We know it does cause irritation. We know on the occupational side, people who work with this material are advised to wear goggles, wear respirators, try not to get in contact.

[00:23:10]If it gets in contact with the skin, it can cause a significant skin irritation or allergy.

[00:23:17]>> Freeman.

[00:23:20]>> Okay, we got time for one more question, sir.

[00:23:22]>> Yeah. Regarding the dispersal rate of this stuff, it either spills or blows.

[00:23:26]Is this stuff heavier than air, meaning it stays close to the ground? Or if you have an explosion, is it going to go up, do widespread uh widespread dispersion and cause problems? And second, for the health officer, if you take a breath of this stuff, how long before you have a lock up of the juris system? Is this similar to say OC or something like that where you'll know about it in 10 or 15 seconds or will it take longer if that happens? Chief Freeman wants to go first. Okay, first question was, is the substance heavier or lighter than air?

[00:23:53]Chief Freeman will handle that and then we'll turn it over to the doc.

[00:23:57]Yeah, thank you for the question. Uh, this product is, uh, heavier than air, so it's going to settle and sink into the lower areas in in and around that facility in any, uh, low holding places.

[00:24:07]>> If it blows, what's the chance of white dispersion?

[00:24:11]>> Uh, we are anticipating and just planning for that as an inevitability, which is part of our isolation zones that we've done, utilizing our current wind and weather conditions. uh in that scenario >> and any injuries or deaths up to this point, people who work at the facility, >> uh no injuries or deaths at this point, >> folks. So, we're going to finish his other part of his question and then that's going to be it for today. So, Doc, if you'd like to come up and explain the potential impacts if somebody was to inhale the substance.

[00:24:43]How fast?

[00:24:48]>> So this depends on the concentration of exposure. We don't know. We don't know in terms if there was a plume how heavy of a plume and concentration of the substance would be in that plume. So if that were to happen again we want everybody to be away from the zone that we have created um to to safeguard everybody's health.

[00:25:10]I would like to make one statement that I believe Chief Kobe talked about. We are actively actively monitoring the air and those limits right now are within normal limits. We are actively monitoring them. They are within normal limits. I just want to make sure we're clear and we're going to continue to monitor them.

[00:25:32]>> All right, folks. That's going to conclude the speaking portion of the press conference. Thank you all for joining us today and thank you to our community for their support throughout this incident. Please continue to follow OC Fire Department >> and you've been listening to a news conference regarding that leak, the chemical leak uh methylmethylry or MMA which we are hearing is very toxic. It is used in making acrylic or plastics. Uh there are two tanks that were involved. One they were able to neutralize, another they were not. They were giving us worst case scenarios. One is that that tank leaks. Another is that it explodes. Currently, there are some 40,000 people that are being impacted by the evacuations. They include parts of Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, and Westminster. Now, again, they are still trying to uh monitor the situation. So far, the air is fine, but they are worried about what will happen if this tank were to explode uh or if there's just leaking and whether or not uh the people in this vicinity would be impacted by this uh gas that can cause uh respiratory issues, eye irritation, and skin irritation. Uh you could experience nausea or dizziness. So far, there have been no injuries or deaths reported. Of course, we are going to continue to follow this situation and bring you updates as we receive them. We now return you to regular programming.

[00:27:42]You guys Hey.

[00:28:39]Heat. Heat.

[00:29:18]Hey.

[00:29:57]Well, my gas tank is on east, so this is for me. Gas prices in SoCal saw a slight dip. Okay, across the board this morning. LA County is at 619 for regular gallon. That still hurts. Orange County 614, Ventura County 610, and the IE is 66.

[00:30:13]Well, it comes as Governor Gavin Newsome is urging drivers not to buy gas from Chevron over this Memorial Day weekend.

[00:30:19]Newsome says a state energy commission found Chevron charging 60 to 80 cents more per gallon than the other stations.

[00:30:26]The governor says unbranded gasoline comes from the same refineries and pipelines as brand names do. The governor added, quote, "Big oil is already making billions off Trump's war.

[00:30:36]Don't let them rip you off by overpaying for brandame gas." In a statement, Chevron said, "Seon works hard to educate Californians about the negative consequences of Sacramento's energy and tax policies. Those adversarial policies have closed nearly 18% of California's refining capacity in less than a year.

[00:30:53]We urge Sacramento to take energy policy seriously and stop making life expensive for California drivers." End quote.

[00:31:00]Work continues near LAX where crews are fixing a damaged 6-in steel natural gas main. This morning, SoCal Gas said they expect repairs to be finished up today.

[00:31:09]Crews shut off the damage line yesterday, but major backups still happened in the area. Well, still ahead, 11 years and 1,800 shows, but last night's was the last. Highlights from the final late show with Steven Coar.

[00:31:23]And a reminder about sun safety this don't Friday. What experts want you to know about sunscreen as you make Memorial Day plans.

[00:32:05]Heat. Heat.

[00:32:59]Hey, hey,