Evacuation Order Partially Lifted as Risk of California Chemical Tank Explosion Recedes

County health officials have said people may notice a chemical smell over a wide area, but insist it is not harmful.

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated, in Garden Grove, Calif., on May 24, 2026. AP Photo/Ethan Swope

An evacuation order was lifted on May 25 for about 34,000 of the 50,000 residents who live near a damaged chemical tank in southern California after emergency officials said the risk of a catastrophic explosion had passed.

Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said, however, that there was still a chance of a smaller explosion or fire at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant in Garden Grove, not far from Anaheim and the Disneyland theme park.