Fire officials in Orange County, California, said Sunday that a crack discovered on a damaged chemical tank could lower the risk of a catastrophic explosion, but they cautioned that the danger has not passed and roughly 50,000 residents remain under evacuation orders with no timeline for their return.
The crack was identified during an overnight assessment that allowed crews to inspect the tank more closely, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Wayhowe Huang. The tank contains highly volatile chemicals, though Huang told the Associated Press early Sunday that it did not appear any had leaked. “There’s still the danger of a possible explosion,” Huang said.
Huang’s remarks underscored the balancing act that emergency responders are navigating: the crack may offer a pressure release that reduces blast risk, but the underlying instability of the damaged vessel means a full all-clear is not yet in sight. Firefighters have been spraying the tank with water in an effort to keep the chemicals inside from reaching a dangerous temperature.
State Sen. Tom Umberg, who represents parts of Orange County, said Sunday that the temperature inside the tank had reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit — an increase of 10 degrees since Saturday. That rise, combined with the tank’s unknown structural integrity, has kept firefighters on scene and evacuees in shelters or with relatives over the Memorial Day weekend.
Officials have not named the specific chemical in the tank or the company that owns it, and they have not provided a public damage assessment beyond confirming the crack. The evacuation zone covers neighborhoods in and around the city of Garden Grove, according to local reports, displacing tens of thousands of residents during a holiday period when many families would otherwise be gathering.
The Orange County Fire Authority is coordinating with federal and state environmental agencies to monitor air quality and plan for a potential controlled release if conditions worsen. A separate incident at the same site prompted an earlier round of evacuations on May 22, when the tank initially overheated, forcing authorities to order residents from roughly 40,000 homes. Many of those orders were extended into the weekend as the situation evolved.
Residents in the evacuation zone have been directed to shelters and advised to follow county emergency alerts. As of Sunday evening, officials said they were evaluating whether to begin a phased lifting of the orders but cautioned that a return would depend on temperature readings and further engineering assessments of the cracked tank.