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Garden Grove lifts evacuation after hazardous‑materials response; council vows review and accountability
Summary
After a multiagency response to a methyl methacrylate leak at a GKN Aerospace facility, officials announced the evacuation order was lifted and 65% of residents had returned; the council ratified a local emergency proclamation and agreed to bring back zoning and moratorium options for discussion.
Garden Grove officials announced May 26 that evacuees may return home after Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and city teams stabilized tanks at a GKN Aerospace site on Western Avenue. OCFA Division Chief Craig Covey said crews had cooled tanks, removed an outer shell, neutralized volatile material in a 15,000‑gallon tank and performed repeated temperature checks to remove the risk of a BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion). "We turned off the water system and monitored the trend; the tank stayed stable," Covey said when explaining the decision to repopulate.
City Manager Lisa Kim told the council the city worked around the clock with mutual‑aid partners to protect life and maintain public information. Assistant City Manager Ursula Luna Reynosa said the city stood up a care‑and‑receive site May 22 that handled 447 attendees and that a Red Cross‑run network of overnight shelters peaked at 1,250 people; by 7 a.m. the day after the incident 362 people remained sheltered. The city also established a 24/7 call center that handled approximately 8,000 calls and diverted some nonemergency calls from 911.
Covey summarized the technical response: first responders arrived after a 3:22 p.m. May 21 call, identified a methyl methacrylate (MMA) leak, and used a 1,250‑gallon‑per‑minute hose stream to cool tanks. Temperature checks rose from 77°F to about 100°F before mitigation, and crews transferred roughly 4,000 gallons from one tank and neutralized the remaining 11,000 gallons of a 15,000‑gallon tank to remove explosive potential. "I'm not going to put anybody anywhere I wouldn't put my family," Covey said. "With those benchmarks being met, we turned off the cooling system, monitored the trend and moved forward." OCFA confirmed ongoing on‑scene monitoring and a 300‑foot safety perimeter around the tank while Western Avenue remained closed for firefighter access.
Mayor Klompenstein opened the emergency meeting by saying the city supports local, state and federal investigations and that "GKN must be held accountable" for its role. The council later voted unanimously to ratify the city manager’s emergency proclamation for the incident (proclaimed 05/22/2026); the roll call recorded seven yes votes and the motion carried.
The council also asked staff to return with information on zoning, permitting and possible moratorium options to prevent similar risks near homes and schools. City Manager Kim said staff would work with OCFA, regulatory agencies and outside experts and asked for time to compile recommendations, aiming to return with materials by the end of June.
Next steps: OCFA will continue on‑site monitoring while agencies including South Coast AQMD and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continue environmental sampling; the city will compile a staff report requested by council for future consideration.
