OCFA Interim Fire Chief TJ McCovey and Incident Commander Craig Covey updated the situation in Garden Grove today with good news. They said that threat of a BLEVE involving a 7,000 gallon tank at GKN Aerospace is now considered to eliminated A BLEVE is short for a Boiling Liquid Evaporating Vapor Explosion.
Members of the OCFA’s Emergency team went into the tank zone again to validate what they were seeing and get accurate temperature readings. They were able to verify that the tank had a crack and the pressure had been released.
They also reported that the tank’s internal temperature has been stabilized and is now dropping. It has fallen from 100 to 93 degrees F.
They also noted that the reason they were not taking more temperature readings over the past few days was because of the enormous risk posed to their emergency team. In an effort to reduce risk they refrained from doing up close temperature checks during the day while the sun was beaming down on the tank.
Because they were only taking temperature readings at night there was a delay in informing the public about the ongoing temperature of the chemical. In fact their team worked all night yesterday in order to confirm that the BLEVE threat was over.
While the BLEVE is now off the table the OCFA is continuing to maintain the evacuation zones. When it is safe to return to the affected homes the OCFA and the OC Sheriff will announce this to the media and the public.
Be sure to follow the OCFA at https://x.com/OCFireAuthority to keep getting their updates. We will continue to post about this emergency as well.
The OC Sheriff is providing resource updates here.
SHELTERS & CARE CENTERS
For impacted residents, the following shelters and care centers are open.
Please call the Public Information Hotline at (714) 628-7085 for information on shelter status as shelter vacancy can fluctuate.
RV Shelter Address Phone Number Spaces/Hookups OC Fair & Events Center 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626Enter Gate 4, Lot E (714) 628-7085 (Public Hotline) 25 spaces with hookups75 spaces without hookups
5/24/26 8:45 p.m. Update: The new Los Alamitos High School shelter is open as of 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 24. Shelter capacity has increased at Golden West College. All other shelters listed below are full at this time.
The County Emergency Operations Center and American Red Cross are working to open additional shelters as quickly as possible.
Shelter Address Phone Number Animals Accepted Los Alamitos High School 3591 West Cerritos Avenue, Los Alamitos, CA 90720 (714) 628-7085 (Public Hotline) Pets Allowed Golden West College Gymnasium (North Entrance) 15744 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 628-7085 (Public Hotline) No pets allowed Mile Square Regional Park – Freedom Hall 16801 Euclid Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 973-6600 Pets AllowedOC Animal Care AKC trailer located here. John F Kennedy High School 8281 Walker Street, La Palma, CA 90623 (714) 220-4101 Pets AllowedOC Animal Care AKC trailer located here. Ocean View High School 17071 Gothard Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 848-0656 Pets Allowed Los Amigos High School 16566 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (714) 628-7085 (Public Hotline) Small pets allowed Savanna High School 301 North Gilbert Street, Anaheim, CA 92801 (714) 628-7085 (Public Hotline) Small pets allowed Care Center Address Phone Number Animals Accepted Ehlers Center 8150 Knott Ave. Buena Park (714) 236-3870 Pets Allowed Westminster Senior Center 8200 Westminster Avenue, Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 895-2878
*Note: Care Centers close at 8:00 PM.
About the Editor
The Editor of the New Santa Ana blog, Art Pedroza, has worked in safety and risk control for over 30 years. He is a former 40-hour Hazwoper (Hazardous Waste and Emergency Response Operations) instructor with experience in refineries and construction. He has spent over 15 years in risk control in commercial insurance. He is a former member of the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Commission. Pedroza currently teaches for a painting apprenticeship program at Cerritos College and he is a part-time lecturer at CSUF in their School of Public Health.