California declares emergency in Orange County over chemical leak risk at aerospace facility

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday as authorities continued responding to a hazardous chemical incident at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove.

In a statement on the US social media company X, Newsom said state agencies had been mobilized for more than 24 hours to assist local authorities and protect public safety as emergency operations continued.

The emergency declaration followed concerns over a tank at the GKN Aerospace facility containing an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a hazardous industrial chemical, which authorities said had begun overheating and releasing toxic gases.

Newsom warned that despite ongoing response efforts, there remained a risk of a “catastrophic failure” that could result in an uncontrolled release of dangerous chemicals.

He said local authorities lacked sufficient capacity to manage an incident of that scale, prompting the state-level emergency declaration.

Newsom added that the California National Guard could be deployed to support emergency response and relief operations if necessary.

According to US media reports, several schools in the area were closed and parts of major roads were shut down due to the incident.

Authorities had already issued evacuation orders for more than 44,000 residents on Friday after the chemical leak risk emerged.