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Officials said there is no threat of an explosion or chemical leak.All evacuation orders tied to a failing chemical tank in Southern California that sparked fears of a catastrophic explosion have been lifted, local authorities announced Tuesday evening.The Orange County Fire Authority said in a social media post that officials have determined there is no threat of an explosion, fire or chemical leak and no risk to the public.On Monday, officials announced the evacuation zone was shrinking after the "worst-case scenario" of a catastrophic explosion had been averted. But about 16,000 people remained under evacuation orders.Earlier Tuesday, officials said the...

The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday. Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning. Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the...

Crews responding to the chemical emergency at a Southern California aerospace facility discovered what officials described as a possible crack in the unstable tank that may be relieving pressure inside the vessel. In a video update posted to social media Sunday, Orange County Fire Authority Interim Chief T.J. McGovern said specialized teams entered the hazard zone late Saturday night on a reconnaissance mission and visually identified what appeared to be a crack in the tank at the center of the crisis. "What they found was a potential crack in the tank, which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure...

Gavin Newsom has pleaded with Donald Trump for help in containing the Orange County chemical plant as officials warned there was still a risk of catastrophe. The California governor asked the president to issue a federal emergency declaration to bring in more support as the Garden Grove disaster continued into a fifth day. It comes as officials on Sunday revealed they had found a crack in the container that could be easing pressure in what they described as a “critically positive” moment. Meanwhile around 50,000 people have had their lives upended amid a mandatory evacuation zone in the immediate area,...

(The Epoch Times)—The head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said Sunday that a chemical storage tank in Southern California that has forced officials to declare an emergency and prompted evacuation orders for tens of thousands residents is likely to fail. Initially, officials said that 40,000 people were ordered to evacuate on Friday, namely in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. That number had risen to 50,000 by Sunday. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday that the “most likely scenario” is a “low-volume release” of the tank, where officials...

An estimated 40,000 people in Orange County, California, have been ordered to evacuate the area over fears that a tank containing a toxic chemical may explode, officials said Friday. Authorities in Orange County said they’re unable to control the valves on a tank at an aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove. “It fails or it blows up,” said Craig Covey, the Orange County Fire Authority incident commander at the scene. Initial evacuation orders were issued Thursday after a “vapor release” at the manufacturing site in Garden Grove. The situation seemed to be stable, but on Friday, the valve on a...

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency on Saturday evening as experts warned that the chemical tank that is overheating in Orange County could explode. 40,000 residents in Orange County, California, were evacuated on Friday amid a chemical leak at an aerospace facility. On Thursday, a valve overheated on a 34,000-gallon tank used to make plastics. Authorities said the tank, located in Garden Grove, could either explode or spill thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals. Several evacuation centers were opened; however, many residents are still refusing to leave their homes. On Friday evening, Orange County Fire Authority...

Fire officials have released a clear and haunting view of what damage could look like if the toxic Garden Grove tank explodes, with its temperature increasing with each passing hour. OCFA Division Chief Nick Freeman said Friday that blast zones would be divided into severe, moderate, and light blast zones in a radius around the tank. The most severe blast zone will cause “severe structural damage and significant harm,” while the moderate zone will see structural damage and some harm. The lightest zone will see just some structural damage. In addition, an oblong circle above the tank is divided into...

The 33-year-old man who police say went on a stabbing spree that left four dead and two wounded was identified Thursday, August 8 as a documented gang member with an extensive criminal history prior to Wednesday’s deadly rampage that spread from Garden Grove to Santa Ana. Investigators were still trying to determine what motivated Zachary Castaneda to attack the victims, who police say were random targets, Garden Grove police said. Castaneda was made eligible for release under the AB109 inmate-realignment legislation, police said. “This person should have been in prison and not allowed to be in our community,” Garden Grove...

The accurate name for "criminal justice reform" is pro-crime. According to Garden Grove cops, the Hispanic gang member who stabbed and slashed 4 people to death, in California was a thug with a history of violence who should never have been freed, and was only set loose due to Assembly Bill 109. Also known as the The Public Safety Realignment Act. "This suspect is identified as Zachary Castaneda, who has been identified as a documented gang member," the Garden Grove police chief announced. "This person should have been imprisoned and not allowed to be in our community committing these violent...

A “documented gang member,” who police said "should have been in prison," was responsible for a two-hour stabbing and robbery rampage in Southern California that killed four people and injured two, authorities said Thursday. Garden Grove Police Chief Tom DaRé told reporters that Zachary Castaneda "could have injured or killed many other people" had he not been apprehended as he walked out of a convenience store in the neighboring city of Santa Ana, dropping a knife and a gun he had taken from a security guard he had just killed. Police told reporters the violence appeared to be “random," with...

Multiple people are reported dead after a stabbing spree in Garden Grove, California. A suspect is in custody.

GARDEN GROVE (CBSLA) — Shoppers at a Garden Grove Walmart say they’re being harassed by a group of homeless people in the parking lot, but police say they cannot do anything about it. Neighbors say a homeless camp has popped up in the parking lot leading to vandalism and harassment, and they say Walmart will not ask them to leave. Security guards and crews to pick up trash have been hired for area parking lots to combat some issues, but shoppers still say they feel unsafe and frustrated. “There’s just a lot of homeless, a lot, asking for money,” said...

Whatch this: Book Discussion on Adios, America ( 1:00:05 ) Garden Grove, California, Anaheim Marriott Suites, JULY 13, 2015 C-SPAN2 BOOKTV.ORG Ann Coulter talked about her book Adios, America, in which she argues that immigration is the greatest issue facing the United States. In her book, she contends that America's immigration policy is deeply flawed and that amnesty will lead to a greater influx of liberal voters, who according to the author, will hurt the economy as well as the country's public and foreign policy.

Vietnamese foodie guide: Critic Brad A. Johnson dishes about the 25 best things to eat in Little Saigon The scent of Little Saigon hits me in the face. An intoxicating perfume of jackfruit and bananas and the vanilla-y scent of pandanus leaves wraps itself around me in a warm, tight embrace. It’s a sunny Friday afternoon, and the line to purchase something cold and sweet at Thach Che Hien Khanh in Garden Grove stretches out the front door and down the sidewalk, past a vendor of exotic fruits and knickknacks — chopsticks, paper lanterns, plastic Buddhas, various figurines of the...

Two Orange County candidates – facing off in a key state Senate race – pushed their platforms to win votes and encourage voter turnout in November during a forum Wednesday. County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, a Garden Grove Republican, and former state Assemblyman Jose Solorio, a Santa Ana Democrat, took part in a 34th Senate District candidate forum moderated by former television news anchor Ed Arnold at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. A political who’s who from the county, cities and special-interest groups attended. The event was sponsored by the Orange County Public Affairs Association. Both candidates emphasized the importance...

GARDEN GROVE – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theater more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years. The church has not released information about the board meeting where Schuller, 84, was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday. He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received...

GARDEN GROVE – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theater more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years. The church has not released information about the board meeting where Schuller, 84, was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday. `He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received...

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral on Wednesday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself in the head as he appeared to be praying, Senior Pastor Juan Carlos Ortiz said. The Orange County coroner's office identified the man as Steve Smick, 48. Church spokesman Mike Nason said there was no record of...

Michael A. Monsoor, a Garden Grove High School graduate, has been selected to receive the prestigious Medal of Honor posthumously for his exceptional courage during a firefight in Iraq when he threw himself on a live grenade to save the lives of his teammates. ... "Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself on to the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity," an incident report posted on the Navy SEAL Web site reads. "The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him."