Thousands can return home after 'catastrophic' explosion risk at California tank is averted

Source: NBC News

May 25, 2026, 11:01 PM EDT / Updated May 26, 2026, 12:24 AM EDT


The risk of a “catastrophic” explosion at a chemical tank in a Los Angeles-area city was averted by Monday, but around 16,000 people remained under evacuation orders as some risks remained, officials said.

The liquid in the 7,000-gallon tank of methyl methacrylate at the Garden Grove facility started to overheat Thursday following an issue with a valve in its refrigeration system, ushering in a tense several days as first responders and experts worked to avoid an explosion.

On Monday, officials said the biggest risk, of a potential “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion,” or a BLEVE, had been averted. “The most catastrophic and worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved,” interim Orange County Fire Chief TJ McGovern said at a news conference Monday evening. “It’s not over yet, and I want to re-emphasize that: It’s not over yet. We still have work to do,” he said. McGovern said firefighters “still have to mitigate a fire and very small explosion concern, and also a spill potential.”

Evacuation orders in the city in northern Orange County, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 4 miles from Disneyland in Anaheim, were reduced from around 60,000 to 16,000 Monday.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/thousands-can-return-home-catastrophic-explosion-risk-california-tank-rcna346843