Disneyland Resort says it is closely monitoring a potentially dangerous chemical emergency in nearby Garden Grove, where authorities fear a pressurised industrial tank could rupture or explode. The entertainment resort issued a statement as concerns continued to grow across Orange County over a storage tank at a GKN Aerospace facility containing methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical used in plastics manufacturing.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and taking guidance from local authorities,” Disneyland said in a statement posted online. “The Disneyland Resort is approximately five miles from the incident and is not in the identified evacuation zone.”
The company added that there was currently “no impact” on operations and that the park remained “open to guests”.
Authorities said the emergency began on Thursday after a 34,000-gallon tank overheated at the aerospace plant. Fire officials warned the tank could either leak hazardous chemicals or fail violently, potentially creating what emergency responders described as a “highly toxic” situation for nearby communities.
The Orange County Fire Authority has spent several days attempting to stabilise the tank while evacuation orders remain in place for about 50,000 residents in surrounding areas.
“This thing is going to fail, and we don’t know when,” OCFA Division Chief Craig Covey said during a press conference on Friday. “We’re doing our best to figure out when or how we can prevent it.”
By Saturday, Covey said emergency crews were exploring additional cooling strategies aimed at reducing pressure inside the container.
“Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us,” he said. “Our goal is to find something and not allow that to happen.”
Gavin Newsom has since declared a state of emergency, saying that “every state resource available” would be deployed to assist local responders.
Officials also sought to reassure the public that major attractions including Knott’s Berry Farm and Angel Stadium were outside the evacuation and blast zones.
“No threat to Disneyland, Angel Stadium or Knott’s Berry Farm,” OCFA Captain Steve Concialdi told KTLA 5.
Meanwhile, GKN Aerospace is facing increasing legal and political scrutiny over the incident. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company, while Todd Spitzer, the Orange County district attorney, confirmed that his office had launched an investigation into whether the company failed to adequately protect the public.
“When we launch an investigation and we get to the bottom of what happened and why the system failed, if you haven’t come forward, you’re not gonna be treated the same as if you come forward early and you tell us what you know,” Spitzer said.
A spokesperson for GKN Aerospace said there had been no reported injuries and that the company was continuing to cooperate with emergency officials as efforts continued to prevent what authorities fear could become a catastrophic failure.