Tens of thousands of Orange County evacuees returning home after orders lifted in Garden Grove chemical crisis
Days into Orange County evacuation orders, families in affected areas were sharing in their struggles and relief in finding a place to stay after a compromised chemical tank in Garden Grove warranted an emergency response and mass evacuations.
In all, 50,000 residents in the communities of Garden Grove, Buena Park, Anaheim, Stanton, Westminster, and Cypress have been under mandatory evacuation orders since Friday afternoon.
While nearly 10 shelters opened for evacuees, many reached capacity quickly. Families turned to other options, like tent camping at the Garden Grove Elks Lodge and RV living at the Orange County Fairgrounds.
The Lopez family is a one-minute walk from the chemical plant in Garden Grove, and they are staying in a tent on the grass at the Elks Lodge.
"They came and said you have 20 minutes to get out of your house, grab your stuff, and go," Rudy Lopez said.
Thursday night, the family of three slept in their car; on Friday night, they stayed at a hotel in Anaheim, and then, low on funds, they heard about the Elks Lodge.
"You open the door and a family walks in, and you're like 'do you need a place?' and they just start crying…." Kay Kerney, Garden Grove Elks Lodge secretary, said.
While the lodge is not an official evacuation site, Elks volunteers decided to open their doors, and allow campers and RVS to fill the parking lots, tents on the lawn, and offer other services like laundry. Community volunteers are responding too, bringing food, hygiene items and toys for children to the lodge.
Over the last four days, more than 110 people and 20 small animals have stayed overnight.
One family from Westminster shared their frustration and struggle to find a place to stay after being evacuated, ultimately finding a temporary home in their RV at the Orange County Fairgrounds.
Elizabeth Sanchez said they were nearly in tears trying to figure out a game plan. "We got information to go to the Elks Lodge from Red Cross, called them, they were full. They gave us a new number to call, then that number gave us another number to call, so we were just really driving around, not really sure what to do."
She said they thought they would just have to return home with their children -- until they found the fairgrounds.
An OC Fair & Events spokesperson said they are welcoming people, working in coordination with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and can hold up to 100 RVs.
"Now this is the best investment we ever made," Sanchez says of the family RV. "We just threw the clothes in there, there's a bathroom, a kitchen, and the kids can sleep in familiar beds."
Later Monday, after days of uncertainty, Orange County Fire Authority and Garden Grove Police Department officials announced that 65% of the evacuation zone had been lifted after they determined that the worst-case scenario — a catastrophic explosion — had finally been ruled out.
