Southern California chemical tank at risk of exploding as 50,000 residents ordered to evacuate | World News
A damaged chemical tank in Southern California may have cracked — potentially lowering the risk of a cataclysmic explosion — though an evacuation order remains in effect for some 50,000 area residents with no timeline on when they can return, a fire official said Sunday. Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Wayhowe Huang said officials will be continuing to evaluate the tank Sunday after emergency crews spotted the potential crack overnight. As of Sunday morning, he said it does not appear that any of the highly volatile chemicals in the tank have leaked. “There’s still the danger of a possible explosion. We’re not taking that off the table,” Huang said. “We’re still operating as if that is the risk.” Firefighters have been spraying the outside of the tank with water hoses in an effort to cool the chemicals heating up inside and prevent an explosion. Lee Zeldin, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Sunday that the “most likely scenario” at this point is a “low-volume release,” where officials will be able to “monitor, neutralize, …
