OC residents displaced by chemical scare may get reimbursed

Tens of thousands of Orange County residents displaced during the Memorial Day weekend by a defective chemical tank may be reimbursed for their losses, local officials said Tuesday, though the exact compensation process has yet to be determined.

The incident, triggered by a defective tank owned by GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, forced evacuations across six OC cities and led to a federal emergency declaration approved by President Trump — raising urgent questions about liability and who will cover losses that some businesses say run into the millions.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chair Doug Chaffee said GKN Aerospace, which owns the faulty tank, is expected to contribute to a compensation fund, though the size and structure of any payments remain unresolved. "It's a worldwide company, and they have responsibilities, so they're going to have to kick in quite a few bucks themselves — so that pot hasn't been determined, nor has the process," Chaffee said, according to Voice of OC.

Chaffee urged residents affected by the evacuation to begin documenting their losses immediately. "You need to save your receipts and make a list of all the things that you think you should be compensated for," he said.

GKN Aerospace acknowledged the disruption in a statement posted to its website. "We apologize for the disruption this incident has caused and as we turn to the immediate relief and recovery effort, we will continue to work with local officials, community partners and non-profit organisations to support affected residents, businesses and the wider community," the company said.

The emergency forced roughly 6,100 residents in West Anaheim to evacuate and shuttered about 3,000 businesses in Stanton, where Mayor David Shawver said financial damage is severe. "Some of my larger businesses are talking millions of dollars in loss," Shawver told Voice of OC. About 150 businesses were located inside the West Anaheim evacuation zone, city officials said.

Westminster Mayor Charlie Chi Nguyen placed responsibility squarely on the aerospace company. "They created this," Nguyen said, adding that GKN should help compensate affected residents. Congressman Derek Tran said he spoke directly with GKN's CEO and is pressing for federal resources. "I've called on the company for full accountability in their actions. The CEO assured me that once all of our residents' safety concerns are taken care of, that they're going to answer to all of this," Tran said.

Garden Grove city spokesman Jonathan Garcia said it was too early to outline any specific relief programs. "I don't think we know the answers to that exactly right now. I think that's all to come. Right now we're most focused on bringing everyone back home, but that information will definitely be shared on our website as soon as we have it available," Garcia said.

All evacuation orders covering Garden Grove, Anaheim, Westminster, Buena Park, Cypress and Stanton were lifted Tuesday evening, allowing the last displaced residents to return home after four days away.