Evacuations underway due to hazmat situation in Garden Grove – NBC Los Angeles

A leak in a large holding tank at an aerospace facility prompted a hazmat response and evacuations in Garden Grove on Thursday, officials said.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to 12122 Western Avenue at around 3:40 p.m., according to the agency.

Inside the 34,000-gallon tank was a flammable liquid called methyl methacrylate, which is used for plastic parts in the aerospace industry, an OCFA spokesperson told NBC Los Angeles. Officials later clarified it was the chemical’s vapors that were being released.

The residential and industrial area under evacuation was north of Garden Grove Boulevard, east of Western Avenue, south of Orangewood Avenue and west of Beach Boulevard. Evacuation orders were lifted for residential neighborhoods around 8:40 p.m., the OCFA said.

A reunification center was set up at Rancho Alamito High School on Dale Street.

Street closures were in place on Western Avenue from Garden Grove Boulevard to Chapman Avenue and Lampson Avenue from Santa Rosalia Avenue to Western Avenue.

Using the company’s sprinkler system and the OCFA’s water streams, efforts were focused on cooling the chemical to keep it from reacting. Before 9:30 p.m., the agency said the chemical had cooled enough, allowing an industrial clean-up crew to offload it. Fire officials were expected to remain in the area to support.

It’s still unclear why the tank started leaking.