Overview
- A vapor release at the GKN Aerospace facility began Thursday and by Friday evacuation orders were expanded to cover roughly 40,000 residents in Garden Grove and parts of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster.
- One tank holding an estimated 6,000–7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate overheated, bulged and began venting vapors, and crews say a broken or “gummed up” valve prevents adding stabilizers or off‑loading the chemical.
- Fire and hazmat teams are using overhead sprinklers, unmanned hose lines and drone temperature checks while building sandbag dikes to keep any spill out of storm drains and waterways.
- State and federal teams, including the EPA, have been deployed for specialized air monitoring, and Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to mobilize additional resources.
- No injuries have been reported, but schools are closed and shelters open; officials stress uncertainty about timing and outcome and are assembling outside experts to find safe ways to depressurize or otherwise mitigate the tank before residents can return.