City of Santa Ana monitoring hazardous materials incident in Garden Grove; no threat to Santa Ana residents

SANTA ANA, Calif. - The City of Santa Ana is closely monitoring an ongoing hazardous materials incident in Garden Grove involving industrial chemical storage tanks at an aerospace manufacturing facility located in the 12100 block of Western Avenue.

"The safety and well-being of our residents remains our top priority," said City Manager Alvaro Nuñez. "We are coordinating with Santa Ana Police Department, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), our emergency response staff, Santa Ana Unified School District, and regional emergency response agencies, and we will be ready to activate the Santa Ana Emergency Operations Center if needed. At this time, Santa Ana residents are not in danger, and we encourage the public to rely on official sources for accurate and timely information."

According to the OCFA, the incident began at approximately 3:22 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, when an initial vapor release occurred from storage tanks containing an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing. OCFA crews immediately responded and initiated cooling operations while requesting additional Hazardous Materials teams.

Although cooling efforts on Thursday and Friday were successful and evacuation orders were temporarily lifted, officials later identified an inoperable valve on one of the tanks, creating additional safety concerns. As a precautionary measure, evacuation orders were reinstated for impacted areas near the facility, primarily in Garden Grove.

At this time, no vapor cloud is being emitted from the tank. Atmospheric monitoring continues at the scene and throughout surrounding communities to ensure evacuation boundaries remain appropriate and public safety is maintained. OCFA, Hazardous Materials teams and Orange County Health officials continue working to stabilize and monitor the situation.

While Santa Ana is not within the evacuation zone, many freeway ramps and streets around the evacuation zone remain closed. Please avoid the area. For a map of the evacuation area, please visit the City of Garden Grove's website. OCFA is posting updates on their social media pages (Instagram, Facebook, X), and the City of Santa Ana will continue to share those on our social media.

Governor Gavin Newsom today declared a state of emergency in Orange County.

The City of Santa Ana remains committed to keeping the community informed and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.