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The worst threats from a damaged chemical tank in Southern California have passed, with authorities saying a major explosion was no longer imminent, but evacuations are still in place amid continued risks on May 26.The damaged tank prompted tens of thousands of evacuations near Garden Grove, California, in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, starting on May 21. The tank, which stores a toxic industrial chemical, overheated and caused pressure to build up.Officials have previously said the crisis would lead to a catastrophic explosion or a spill of the roughly 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate at the GKN Aerospace manufacturing facility.By May 25, they were more optimistic."The most catastrophic and worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved," said TJ McGovern, interim chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, in a news conference the evening of May 25.The potential for the most serious crisis was averted after officials discovered a crack in the tank, which relieved significant pressure and the likelihood of a BLEVE, or a "boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion." The evacuation zone was reduced on May 25, but still covered about 16,000 residents, the fire authority said."Residents have been displaced from their homes, businesses have been impacted, and I am relieved that many of you will be able to return home," Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said. "Garden Grove will get through this together."President Donald Trump, on May 25, signed an emergency declaration at the federal level.Thousands of residents can go back home after explosion risk mitigatedTens of thousands of residents were removed from the evacuation zone as of the evening of May 25.As people return to their homes, the Environmental Protection Agency said it was conducting air quality tests, which so far were in the clear for harmful exposure to residents, federal on-scene coordinator Chris Myers said.Many who evacuated have been staying at shelters set up to house the displaced, and some slept in tents or in their cars nearby. They spent their Memorial Day holiday away from home. At Freedom Hall, a structure at Miles Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley, Michael Friedman told the USA TODAY Network he was tired and frustrated after evacuating from his home on May 22.“Everyone’s doing their best,” Friedman said. “They really are, but it's like it’s not like being at home.” Nancy O'Leary, who lives in a senior facility in Garden Grove, slept near Friedman at the shelter. Despite the situation, O'Leary was thankful for how helpful she said others were.“Oh, you have no idea the friends you make in here,” she said. “Sticking together. It’s wonderful.” The risk is not over. What happens next?Officials said the residents under the most recent evacuation orders live in an area still at risk from the tank. More work will need to be done before the evacuation is lifted entirely, Orange County Fire Authority incident commander Craig Covey said.Teams are checking the temperature of the tank every 30 minutes, hoping to confirm a downward trend that would indicate risk is lessening. In the smaller risk zone, Covey said there is still a potential for fire.In the meantime, residents were urged not to enter the evacuation zone and to keep close watch for updates."Nothing is worth risking and endangering your lives by trying to go back to your home while an evacuation order is still in effect," said Sen. Adam Schiff of California. "Don’t put your lives at risk, and don’t put the lives of first responders at risk by getting in their way."Contributing: Paris Barraza, Daniella Segura, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Christopher Cann, Thao Nguyen, Ani Gasparyan and Brian Day, the USA TODAY Network
