California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County on Saturday due to the potential explosion of a chemical tank at an aerospace facility.

“The state continues to assist in local response efforts following a hazardous chemical incident at an aerospace facility that has resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding area,” a press release from Newsom’s office read.

“The proclamation directs the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and all state government agencies to support Orange County and impacted local jurisdictions to address the emergency. The proclamation also unlocks additional emergency response resources and authorities, including making state-owned properties and fairgrounds available to provide shelter for evacuated residents, as necessary,” it continued.

“The safety of Orange County residents is the top priority. We are mobilizing every state resource available to support local responders and make sure the community has what they need to stay safe,” Newsom said.

“More than 40,000 residents have been evacuated as emergency crews race to cool the overheating tank at a Southern California aerospace facility,” Fox News stated.

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“Officials warn the tank could either explode or spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals, triggering what responders called an ‘environmental disaster,'” it continued.

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Officials have not yet said when residents may be allowed to return home as emergency crews continue monitoring the hazardous conditions surrounding the aerospace facility.

Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey gave an update Saturday morning, saying the tank had increased from 77 degrees to 90 degrees in temperature after they incorrectly measured the outside of the tank with a drone instead of the actual liquid temperature.

“Yesterday afternoon I did report that we had some positive intel and that the tanks were stable, and we were keeping the temperature cool. And actually we thought we were reducing it a little bit,” Covey said.

“Unfortunately, I have to say those temperatures we are doing is via drone, doing readings on the external of the vessel. It’s not covering the interior temperatures inside of what actually [is in the] liquid,” he added.

He said the liquid is increasing by a degree an hour on average. Fire officials expect the tank to either rupture or potentially explode. If the tank explodes, it could damage nearby properties and potentially ignite a fire.

Orange County Rep. Derek Tran said in a Saturday press conference that he’s concerned about the other tanks if the one does explode.

“The additional part to all of this that complicates things are the two other tanks that are located in there. While those tanks are not failing, they contain 30-something thousand additional gallons of the same toxic chemicals. So, we are watching everything,” he said.

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According to CBS News, the industrial tank at the Garden Grove facility is estimated to contain approximately 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate.

Methyl methacrylate is a “highly volatile” and “highly flammable” toxic substance used in the production of plastics, the outlet noted.

“This is gonna happen unless some brilliant guy behind me here figures out how we can mitigate this incident,” Covey said on Friday, according to CBS News.

“This thing is gonna fail. We don’t know when,” he added.

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CBS News explained further:

OCFA officials said there are three tanks in total, with one of the three compromised in its cooling system. Firefighters said that they have stabilized the temperature of the tank and, thus far, have been able to keep it maintained, which has given them additional time to try finding a solution.

“There are literally two options left remaining: One, the tank fails and spills a total of about [6,000] to 7,000 gallons of very bad chemicals into the parking lot and that area,” Covey said. “Or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around it that have fuel or chemicals in them as well.”

Covey said it was unclear how widespread or dangerous an explosion could be, and said the timeline was unknown.

“We want to prepare for the worst, but expect for things to get better,” he said.

Speaking to CBS LA on Saturday morning, Covey said his team was developing “contingency plans” in case an explosion or fire event does occur, but he still wasn’t sure when the situation would continue to develop.

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“We don’t know when it’s going to end,” he said. “We’re not giving up. We’re not going to let this just go.”

He noted that a team has been assembled to “think outside the box,” with a county hazmat team calling on experts throughout the state and country to help search for solutions to depressurize the affected tank and mitigate exposure.

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