Orange County sheriff deputies block Western Avenue at Katella Avenue as roads remain closed after a chemical leak from a large storage tank prompted evacuations in Garden Grove, California, on May 24, 2026. Photo by Blake Fagan / AFP
Los Angeles, United States: The threat of a toxic chemical tank explosion has been "eliminated" but some 50,000 evacuated residents need to remain in place, fire officials in California said Monday.
"We are happy to report that the threat ... has been eliminated," TJ McGovern, interim fire chief for the Orange County Fire Authority, said in a video posted on X.
"The evacuation zones are still in play," he said. "Please abide by those evacuation zones."
