Evacuation centers remained open in Southern California on Saturday as authorities worked to cool an overheated chemical storage tank and keep it from exploding less than a mile from Disneyland’s two theme parks.No injuries were reported after the pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors in Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Evacuation orders were issued for 40,000 people, and several shelters were opened by Friday night, including at three high schools. The main concern was that the tank could fail and crack, releasing the chemical onto the ground, or it could explode, said Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey. The tank is located at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. The tank holds between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons (22,700 and 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate, used to make plastic parts.
Drones are monitoring the tank’s temperature, and by Friday evening, efforts to cool the tank were working, Covey said. “It is not OK with me just to sit back and watch this thing blow up or fail. That is not acceptable to me,” Covey said in an update posted on social media. “Our group is going to do everything they can to come up with a third, a fourth, a fifth option that is not that, that is not failure, and we can get all of you back home as soon as possible. I ask you to continue to be patient.”
