{"id":331178,"date":"2026-05-25T03:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T03:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/331178\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T03:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T03:14:08","slug":"arizona-could-feel-impacts-if-southern-california-chemical-tank-explodes-expert-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/331178\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona could feel impacts if Southern California chemical tank explodes, expert warns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text text-start\">PHOENIX (AZFamily) \u2014 Officials in Garden Grove, California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azfamily.com\/2026\/05\/24\/chemical-tank-risk-exploding-50000-residents-are-ordered-evacuate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.azfamily.com\/2026\/05\/24\/chemical-tank-risk-exploding-50000-residents-are-ordered-evacuate\/\">said a chemical plant is \u201cliterally on the edge of exploding\u201d<\/a> as firefighters work to cool a tank filled with about 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical used in making plastics. Garden Grove is about 350 miles west of Phoenix and roughly 250 miles from Yuma.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Fire crews have been working through the weekend, using sprinklers and hose lines to cool the tank and reduce pressure. Officials said Sunday morning that an overnight operation provided new information that allowed them to adjust their strategy. Crews also identified what officials described as a potential crack that could relieve some of the pressure building inside the tank, but they said the situation remains dangerous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents and leaving the area around the plant largely empty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Local environmental disaster expert Steve Brittle said any impacts beyond Southern California would depend on wind conditions, but he said chemical fumes could potentially reach Arizona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cYou could conceivably have chemical fumes reach Arizona,\u201d Brittle said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Brittle said the effects could be substantial and could cross state lines, depending on conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cIt would all depend on the wind, and we have seen where things can blow across state lines. They will be thinking about us,\u201d Brittle said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The Environmental Protection Agency says methyl methacrylate is corrosive and exposure can cause skin irritation, respiratory issues and headaches. Brittle said chemical exposure can produce similar symptoms across different incidents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s a poisonous chemical, very harmful. And the problem with chemical exposure, it all causes the same health symptoms,\u201d Brittle said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Officials also warned an explosion could trigger a separate blast involving a nearby 15,000-gallon tank. Shelters have been set up for evacuees, and some hotels are offering discounts. Health officials said the air should be safe outside the evacuation area, though many residents said they remain concerned. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Nearby Disneyland and Knott\u2019s Berry Farm remain open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text text-start\">See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azfamily.com\/page\/send-us-your-feedback\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text text-start\">Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azfamily.com\/community\/user-content\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">it to us here<\/a> with a brief description.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 KTVK\/KPHO. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX (AZFamily) \u2014 Officials in Garden Grove, California, said a chemical plant is \u201cliterally on the edge of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2123,7,137340,137338,137339,9,8,14646],"class_list":["post-331178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-azfamily","tag-california","tag-california-chemical-explosion","tag-california-chemical-tank","tag-california-chemical-tank-impact-on-arizona","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-phoenix-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}