Newsom Declares State of Emergency in Orange County as Experts Warn Chemical Tank Could Explode – Firefighters Find Crack in Tank
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency on Saturday evening as experts warned that the chemical tank that is overheating in Orange County could explode.
40,000 residents in Orange County, California, were evacuated on Friday amid a chemical leak at an aerospace facility.
On Thursday, a valve overheated on a 34,000-gallon tank used to make plastics.
Authorities said the tank, located in Garden Grove, could either explode or spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals.
Several evacuation centers were opened; however, many residents are still refusing to leave their homes.
On Friday evening, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey said the temperature of the tank had come down.
“It’s down to a temperature around 61 degrees, with 50 being its happy place,” Craig Covey said.
However, Covey walked back his statement on Saturday and said drones were measuring the temperature outside of the tank.
As of Saturday, the tank’s internal temperature is around 100 degrees, up from 77 degrees on Friday.
On Sunday, TJ McGovern, the Interim Fire Chief for the Orange County Fire Authority, said firefighters discovered a crack in the tank late Saturday night, which could be relieving some of the pressure.
WATCH:
***CRITICAL INCIDENT UPDATE*** pic.twitter.com/YK2WhSPhNo
— OCFA (@OCFireAuthority) May 24, 2026
Newsom declared a state of emergency.
“I’m proclaiming a state of emergency in Orange County as California continues to respond to the hazardous chemical incident in Garden Grove,” Newsom said.
I’m proclaiming a state of emergency in Orange County as California continues to respond to the hazardous chemical incident in Garden Grove.@Cal_OES has been mobilized for over 24 hours and state agencies are supporting impacted communities to protect public safety, and assist… pic.twitter.com/pOLZWkX0vD
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) May 23, 2026
KABC reported:
An urgent situation is unfolding in Garden Grove, where a chemical tank at the GKN Aerospace facility has been unstable for several days and is on a path to imminent failure.
Authorities say it will likely either spill thousands of gallons of a highly toxic chemical or, even worse, explode if it fails.
The “crisis situation” has forced 50,000 people out of their homes, leaving them wondering when this will all end. Some schools were also closed on Friday.
The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) says a crew was able to see an internal temperature gauge, showing that the temperature has been rising about one degree per hour since Thursday morning.
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Now, authorities are preparing for the tank to fail, as well as talking to experts from across the country to find any alternative solutions.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Orange County, making additional state resources and shelter sites available.
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