By Ricardo Roura
The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) announced that Since the night of this Tuesday, May 26, all evacuation orders have been lifted due to the chemical emergency at an industrial facility in the city of Garden Grove.
OCFA’s announcement came after Orange County health officials, fire crews and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determine that there is no chemical leak or threat of explosion or fire at the GKN Aerospace plant.
Garden Grove Perilous Materials Incident Unified Uncover Teach:
Unified Incident Uncover is overjoyed to symbolize that the Garden Grove unsafe materials incident has been stabilized and all evacuation orders were lifted. pic.twitter.com/IIgRLKnWSt
— OCFA (@OCFireAuthority) Could 27, 2026
After the announcement, some 16,000 people who remained under the evacuation order They were cleared to return home safely..
Keep reading: GKN Aerospace paid a fine of $900,000 in 2025 for environmental violations
The OCFA reported that, although residents can return to their homes, The area of Western Avenue, between Garden Grove Boulevard and Chapman Avenue, remains closed until further notice.
Evacuation orders were in effect since Thursday, May 21, when a tank, with a capacity of 34,000 gallons, was at risk of exploding due to the high pressure due to the increase in temperature inside, with 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical.
This Monday, the OCFA said a crack was discovered in the tank, which helped release internal pressure and allowed authorities to confirm that The risk of suffering a massive boiling liquid vapor expansion explosion (BLEVE) was eliminated..
Keep reading: Trump approves emergency declaration for Orange County
The teams carried out a mission to confirm that internal pressure was being released, as well as to remove weather insulation from the outside of the tankwith the purpose of making the water sprayed more effective in reducing the temperature.
However, there was a latent risk of a small explosion or fire occurringso the firefighters continued their work to stabilize the temperature of the tank and finally stopped spraying it with water.
This Tuesday afternoon technicians were observed walking freely around the warehouse involved in the emergency.
Keep reading: Lawyers File Disaster Class Action Lawsuit in Orange County
An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the overheating of the tank that stored the methyl methacrylate.
Lawyers filed class action lawsuit by Garden Grove residents against the company GKN Aerospace.
Keep reading:
OCFA Fire Authority Eliminates Explosion Risk in Orange County
· Anguish in Garden Grove due to dangerous chemical leak
· Food, ventilation, pets: What chemical evacuees should check before returning home
