Chemical tank crack eases explosion fears as 50,000 residents flee California

A damaged chemical tank in southern California cracked over the weekend, which authorities were hopeful would relieve pressure and reduce the risk of an explosion. Some 50,000 residents in Garden Grove, a city of roughly 170,000 about 40 miles (60km) south of downtown Los Angeles, have been evacuated and are waiting for a resolution. The tank overheated on Thursday and began venting vapors, leaving local and state officials scrambling to evade a worst possible scenario at the aerospace company site. No injuries have been yet reported. Fire officials planned to send in a team overnight to determine if the pressure has been relieved, which would reduce the worst-case scenario of an explosion, TJ McGovern, the Orange county fire authority interim chief, said in a video posted late on Sunday to the agency’s X account. Atmospheric modeling showed an active leak from the tank as of Sunday night, McGovern said. Firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts. The tank’s interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) on Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday. Fire officials over the weekend discovered the tank had cracked, lowering the potential for a devastating blast. …