20,000 evacuated in Southern California chemical leak as officials say tank "is going to fail"

Local News 20,000 evacuated in Southern California chemical leak as Orange County officials warn tank "is going to fail" By Matthew Rodriguez, Matthew Rodriguez Digital Producer, CBS Los Angeles Matthew Rodriguez is a digital producer for CBS Los Angeles. He's previously reported for local outlets like the Argonaut and Pasadena Weekly. Matt typically covers breaking news and crime. Read Full Bio Matthew Rodriguez, Chelsea Hylton Chelsea Hylton Chelsea Hylton is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. An Inglewood native, Hylton has her master's degree from USC. She covers local breaking news across the Southern California region. Before joining CBS in 2024, she worked at NBC LA, Telemundo 52, The Los Angeles Times and KOMO 4 News in Seattle. Read Full Bio Chelsea Hylton Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 5:40 PM EDT / CBS LA Add CBS News on Google Orange County officials expanded evacuation orders in several cities on Friday afternoon after an industrial tank containing a flammable and toxic, self-heating substance started leaking at a Garden Grove aerospace facility.The Orange County Fire Authority has expanded the evacuation zone to include areas north of Trask Avenue, south of Ball Road, east of Valley View and west of Dale Street. Officials said the orders are affecting residents in Garden Grove, Stanton and Cypress. The City of Buena Park also issued mandatory evacuation orders, spanning from Ball Road to Trask Avenue and Valley View Street to Dale Street. Residents in the Girl Tract are "urged to leave the area immediately."OCFA officials said a tank carrying "very bad chemicals" is "actively in crisis." There are three tanks in total, with one of the three compromised.  "There are literally two options left remaining, one, the tank fails and spills a total of about 6-7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot and that area, or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around it that have fuel or chemicals in t...