Thousands of people who live near a damaged hazardous chemical tank in Southern California still can’t return home, even as officials say the risk of a catastrophic explosion had largely passed.
About 16,000 of roughly 50,000 evacuees are still waiting for the all clear. The tank contains methyl methacrylate, which is highly flammable.
Health officials have assured residents that there was no contamination or and that no fumes were released.
An Orange County Fire Authority firefighter instructs a photographer to leave the GKN Aerospace evacuation area.
Nathalie Bouriche of Anaheim sits on a cot inside Freedom Hall in Fountain Valley, where she spent the night, along with her son, Abde Atti, seated behind her, after being forced to evacuate.
The crisis began Thursday, when firefighters responded to GKN Aerospace after a 34,000-gallon tank containing methyl methacrylate, an industrial chemical used in plastics and manufacturing, started to fail.
Evacuees take shelter at Freedom Hall in Fountain Valley, where the American Red Cross set up an evacuation center.
A drone image show the proximity of residential homes to the storage tanks at the GKN Aerospace facility.
Henry Nguyen sits on a cot inside his tent outside the Freedom Hall shelter. The Nguyen’s have lived one block from the GKN Aerospace facility since 2004.
Evacuees Maria Medina, 40, left, of Westminster, with children Mayrin Martinez, 4, and Armando Martinez, 9, pass the time Monday at Mile Square Regional Park. They had been sleeping in their car since Saturday because there was no more space for them in the Freedom Hall evacuation center.
Darleene Berrelleza and Angel Beltran and their cat, Felix, returned home to Stanton on Monday. They had evacuated to a family member’s home in Lake Elsinore.
Allan Chaidez, center, and his father, Guillermo Chaidez, return home to Stanton after evacuating due to the Garden Grove chemical crisis.
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