GARDEN GROVE (CNS) – The legal troubles of the company that owns the compromised chemical storage tank at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove were mounting Thursday as 29 claims against them were filed in Orange County Superior Court and about eight in federal court since last Thursday’s emergency evacuations of some 50,000 residents.
In one suit seeking class status in state court, residents Diana Guadarrama, Jip Kang, Eduardo Pateyro and Linda Rodriguez live 1.5 miles from the plant.
Guadarrama left her home following evacuation orders Friday and initially got a hotel room and later went to go stay at a relative’s home. Kang did the same and later stayed with family in Anaheim. He said it was difficult to find shelter because his child has asthma and cannot reside in close quarters with so many other people, according to the suit.
Pateyro left his home with family and found shelter with relative. Rodriguez finally found a room in a Fullerton hotel, which was difficult “due to high demand and inflated prices,” according to the suit.
Residents returned to their homes and students went back to classes in Garden Grove Wednesday, one day after all evacuation orders were lifted.
Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey and Garden Grove Police Department Chief Amir El-Farra broke the good news to residents at a special meeting of the Garden Grove City Council on the emergency Tuesday night.
“I’m happy to report the lifting of evacuations in its entirety immediately,” El-Farra said. “Everyone can return to their homes. Thank you for your understanding and patience.”
Roughly 16,000 people were under evacuation orders Tuesday due to continued concerns about the storage tank at the GKN Aerospace facility at 12122 Western Ave.
Before announcing the lifting of the evacuation orders, Covey told residents at the council meeting Tuesday evening that authorities were in a more “offensive” mode in handling the compromised tank and the toxic chemical inside. He said the temperature in the tank was stable, and actually “dropped down to 90 degrees” on Tuesday, down from 93 degrees earlier in the day.
A cooling spray of water that was directed at the tank since Thursday was turned off on Tuesday, and Covey said the temperature held steady even after the flow of water was cut.
Authorities planned to establish a 300-foot safety zone around the tank and two others so crews could continue efforts to stabilize the material, Covey said. Western Avenue will remain closed for emergency vehicles only, he added.
Authorities first responded to GKN Aerospace, a global supplier of vehicle and aircraft components that manufactures acrylic plastics, at 3:22 p.m. Thursday after the tank began venting vapors and triggered a sprinkler system designed to spray water on it to cool the material inside. The tank contained methyl methacrylate, a flammable and toxic chemical used to manufacture acrylic plastics.
Officials feared that further instability in the 34,000-gallon tank — which contains about 7,000 gallons of the chemical — could have set off an explosion in two adjacent tanks at the facility, one holding 15,000 gallons and one that contains 4,500 gallons. Authorities were able to remove about 4,000 gallons of the chemical from the larger tank and treat it, officials said.
Multiple residents called on the City Council Tuesday night to crack down on GKN Aerospace, questioning why a company handling such chemicals could be operating as close as it is to homes, schools and businesses.
Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein told residents, “There must be accountability. GKN must be held accountable.”
Evacuation orders affected about 50,000 people at the height of the crisis. The orders were lifted for about 34,000 people over the weekend when officials determined that a crack in the main storage tank had relieved pressure inside, eliminating the risk of a possible explosion that had prompted the large-scale evacuations.
A county health department official said residents should feel safe as they return home because there was no leak and no contamination.
GKN Aerospace posted an updated statement Wednesday saying, “We are deeply grateful to the emergency personnel, technical experts, the GKN site team and local, state and federal agencies, who have worked around the clock to ensure the safety of our community. We apologize for the disruption this incident has caused and as we turn to the immediate relief and recovery effort, we will continue to work with local officials, community partners and nonprofit organizations to support affected residents, businesses and the wider community.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency on Saturday, and requested a federal emergency declaration from President Donald Trump one day later. Trump signed the order Monday, according to Newsom and other local officials.
The governor’s office said a declaration from the Trump administration permits federal cost-sharing support for urgent actions such as evacuations, sheltering and emergency medical support, access to public assistance to help pay for overtime, equipment and other emergency actions, and the ability for FEMA to provide additional direct federal assistance, such as personnel, specialized equipment and technical support.
It differs from a major disaster declaration, which is typically approved only after significant damage has occurred.
Newsom’s office announced that nearly 800 state and local first responders and emergency personnel were supporting public safety, evacuations, traffic management, sheltering operations, environmental monitoring and community assistance efforts.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday afternoon that it has established an anonymous tipline and online reporting form to gather information regarding the incident.
“Anyone with information related to the circumstances leading up to this incident, including but not limited to specific details of the release, information about the industrial operations of the facility, the quality and frequency of maintenance of the tanks and systems at issue, and any other relevant information at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, is encouraged to call the Orange County District Attorney Anonymous Tip Hotline at 714-347-8714 or fill out an anonymous online form at www.ocdistrictattorney.gov,” the office stated.
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