On Friday, authorities in Southern California ordered the evacuation of about 40,000 residents after a vapor release and subsequent equipment failure at an aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove.
Fire officials said the incident escalated when valve systems on a chemical storage tank became inoperable.
UPDATE: At 3:22 p.m., firefighters responded to an aerospace manufacturing company in the 12100 block of Western Ave. in Garden Grove for a vapor release from a 34,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, an industrial chemical used in plastics and manufacturing.— OCFA (@OCFireAuthority) May 22, 2026 Evacuation Expanded After System Failure Crews with the Orange County Fire Authority said a tank containing methyl methacrylate, a toxic and highly flammable industrial chemical used in plastics production, became unstable after the failure.
The event followed an initial vapor release on Thursday.
Incident commander Craig Covey said outside experts have proposed "outside-the-box" mitigation strategies as crews work to stabilize the system. ***Incident Update***Incident Commander Chief Covey provides an update on the hazardous materials incident in Garden Grove.
