​

The quote that sticks out to me is “This is going to happen unless some brilliant guy behind me here figures out how we can mitigate this incident,”

The number of residents evacuated in Orange County, California, doubled to approximately 79,000 as emergency crews work nonstop to prevent an overheating tank filled with a toxic chemical from leaking or triggering what officials warn could be a catastrophic explosion

Authorities have spent the past two days trying to prevent the tank, which is full of the chemical methyl methacrylate, from exploding after it began to overheat.

Evacuation orders were initially issued to those in the 9-square-mile area around the facility involved, but the evacuation zone was expanded after experts evaluated the volatile situation.

The chemical, also known as MMA, is used to manufacture plastics and can potentially cause respiratory issues if humans are exposed, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday as the state ramps up its response to the hazardous chemical incident, including expanding shelter availability for evacuated residents.

Officials had been using drones to measure the temperature of the tank and had initially believed the tank was cooling off, but Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Unified Incident Commander Craig Covey said on Saturday they learned that’s not the case.

“Unfortunately, I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees. Yesterday morning it was 77 degrees when we backed out. It’s been averaging about a degree an hour increasing, so that’s the bad news,” Covey said.

The discovery was made after emergency crews were put “in harm’s way” Friday night in an attempt to neutralize a second tank at the facility, Covey said.

Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told CNN on Saturday crews are racing to stabilize the compromised tank by cooling and neutralizing the chemical in hopes it will solidify from the outside inward — a process he compared to an ice cube freezing.

“It basically gets hard from the outside first, and inside there is still liquid in there until it completely ices over, and that’s what we’re hoping will happen,” Concialdi said, but warned the process may not succeed.

“A couple things could happen. … The tank could crack and start spilling out all that 7,000 gallons of chemical, or there could be a catastrophic explosion and the other two tanks would be affected as well,” the fire captain said.

“If it starts failing, we have some containment areas, secondary containment, diking and damming with sand that will be set up, or have already been set up,” Concialdi added.

The fire captain said officials are “unsure” about the precise temperature at which the tank could ignite or explode.

“Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us. Our goal is to find something and not allow that happen, not to let it damage our community, not let it damage our environment. That’s unacceptable,” Covey said.

Shelters fill as evacuation zone remains in effect

On Friday, police made a reverse 911 call to tell people to evacuate and posted on social media about the evacuations, Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said. About 15% of people — or about 6,000 residents — from the evacuation area had refused to leave, he said.

Thirteen schools and two facilities within the Garden Grove Unified School District were also evacuated Friday morning.

The Red Cross currently has three evacuation shelters – two in Fountain Valley and La Palma are at capacity. The Red Cross is referring people to the shelter in Huntington Beach and is working on standing up additional facilities, a Red Cross spokesperson told CNN on Saturday. A fourth evacuation shelter at a high school in Anaheim is also open for displaced residents and is being managed by another organization.

Discounted rates at nearby hotels over the holiday weekend were also being offered.

Additionally, a voting center in Garden Grove along with a number of ballot boxes would be closed Saturday, the Orange County Registrar of Voters announced Friday. Those displaced by the evacuation were encouraged to use any of the 38 other voting centers in the county to cast their ballot ahead of the June 2 primary election.

The industrial site where the tank is located is about 5 miles from Disneyland and about 4 miles from Knott’s Berry Farm. Both parks told CNN they are actively monitoring the situation and are focused on guests’ and employees’ well-being and safety. The parks, which are both outside the evacuation zone, remain open and operational.

MMA is heavier than air, Covey said at a news conference Friday, and the air should be safe outside of the evacuation zone, Orange County Health Officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said in a later update.

“This is going to happen unless some brilliant guy behind me here figures out how we can mitigate this incident,” Covey said as he emphasized the need to evacuate. “This thing is going to fail.”

Exposure to MMA can cause major respiratory issues, including “significant irritation” to the lungs and nasal passages, as well as dizziness and nausea, Chinsio-Kwong said. There are not many documented cases of human interaction, so it is unpredictable what the effects of a potential explosion could be on the population, she said, encouraging people to stay out of the evacuation zone for that reason.

“We’re going into unique times and we have limited information,” Chinsio-Kwong said.

The chemical, which is not currently detected in the air, can produce a fruit-like scent, although smelling it doesn’t mean you’ve gotten enough exposure to have symptoms, she said in another update.

The EPA is leading air monitoring efforts as part of the unified command team, while the Orange County Health Care Agency is leading public health response, the South Coast Air Quality Management District told CNN.

Authorities initially responded to a vapor release from the tank containing MMA at the Garden Grove facility on Thursday, Orange County Fire Authority Interim Fire Chief TJ McGovern said Friday. One of the three tanks at the site had increased in temperature and activated a relief valve and overhead sprinklers to try to cool the tank, he said. The other two tanks have either been neutralized with a chemical agent or aren’t at risk.

Evacuation orders were issued for the area Thursday, but they were lifted that night after the vapor conditions improved, McGovern said. As crews tried to remove and contain the product from the one tank, they realized the tank had a damaged valve so the chemical couldn’t be removed, which caused local authorities to reinstate the evacuation orders, he said.

McGovern emphasized there was no vapor coming out of the tank as of Friday, and authorities are continuing to monitor the air quality.

The manufacturer’s response team had tried everything they could but couldn’t mitigate the crisis, Covey said Friday. The only two options given to authorities were either the tank would crack and leak the 7,000 gallons of MMA into the surrounding parking lot, or the container would explode, he said.

GKN Aerospace Transparency on Saturday said the situation “remains ongoing.”

“We are fully focused on working with emergency services, specialized hazardous material teams and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the local community, our employees and everyone else involved,” the company said. “We sincerely apologize for the significant disruption to the many local residents and businesses who have had to be evacuated. We are working tirelessly with all relevant experts to resolve this situation as safely as possible and in a timely manner and are deeply grateful for the continued skill and dedication of the Orange County emergency services.”

Orange County Fire Authority officials are asking the public to refrain from calling “to offer suggestions” so emergency personnel can continue to keep communication lines focused on incident operations. “Please know that subject matter experts are working around the clock to mitigate the emergency safely and effectively,” the agency said.

Authorities warned there were many factors that could contribute to the tank’s demise, which is why they expanded the evacuation orders to such a large area.

“People need to get out of their houses and get into a safe space because when this thing goes, depending on the wind direction it’s going, we cannot control the weather,” Covey said.

“This is highly volatile, it’s highly toxic and it’s highly flammable,” Covey said.