Newsom seeks federal disaster aid as Orange County chemical leak widens

Governor Gavin Newsom asked President Donald Trump for an emergency declaration after a hazardous chemical leak at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove forced about 50,000 Orange County residents under mandatory evacuation orders and sent local officials scrambling to keep pace with a widening public safety threat.

California had already declared a state of emergency in Orange County on May 23, after state officials said they had taken early and aggressive steps to support local response crews and pre-position resources. The request to the White House came as firefighters, emergency managers and county officials tried to contain a volatile tank of methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in plastics manufacturing, that was estimated at roughly 6,000 to 7,000 gallons.

The evacuation zone spread beyond Garden Grove into West Anaheim, Cypress, Buena Park and Stanton, reflecting the scale of the risk if the tank failed. Fire officials said the tank had overheated and developed a leak, and later reported that a crack may have relieved some pressure. Some reporting said the tank had reached at least 95 degrees, raising fears that the situation could still end in a leak or explosion.

Orange County emergency officials opened a shelter in Fountain Valley, while the American Red Cross said trained volunteers and staff were on call around the clock for sheltering, feeding and health services. A public information hotline and a 24-hour call center were also set up for evacuees. Local reporting said about 15 percent of residents had refused to leave by Friday afternoon, complicating the response as crews continued door-to-door warnings and reverse-911 alerts.

The emergency declaration Newsom sought would give the state a stronger federal backstop as the county leans on mutual aid, shelters and public messaging. It would also signal that the incident has moved beyond a local fire response into a disaster-scale operation with residents waiting on housing, food, medical support and clearer answers about when it is safe to return.

For Orange County, the delay itself carries a price. Every hour the evacuation remains in place means more strain on shelter capacity, more disruption for families and workers, and more pressure on first responders trying to prevent a toxic release in one of Southern California’s most densely packed suburban corridors.