OC Fire Authority draws fresh complaints over chemical evacuation communication

Thousands of Garden Grove residents went days without access to their homes — some scrambling for medications and pet supplies they had left behind — after a chemical tank leak evacuation expanded overnight with little warning, Voice of OC reported.

The breakdown echoes a 2019 Orange County Grand Jury warning about poor multiagency emergency communication — a systemic problem county officials have yet to resolve, seven years on.

The evacuation began Thursday evening, May 23, when a leaking chemical tank prompted authorities to clear surrounding neighborhoods. Residents were initially told they could return within hours. But the next morning, officials abruptly expanded the zone — leaving thousands locked out of their homes until Tuesday night, according to Voice of OC.

Shelters filled quickly after the expansion, forcing some displaced residents to sleep in their cars or check into hotels. Whether those residents would be reimbursed for lodging and other financial damages remained unclear as of Wednesday, Voice of OC reported.

Lauriana Adriano, a Garden Grove resident who addressed the city council Tuesday night, said the lack of updates compounded the hardship. "I talked to so many people who had left essential medications, who had left pet food, who had left things that they needed to survive from a day to day basis at home with no communication about when they would be able to go back," Adriano said.

OC Fire Authority Captain Brian Yau defended the agency's communication approach in a Tuesday interview. "We want everyone to get back home just as much as they do. We don't want to push out information that becomes misinterpreted or push out a false sense of hope or what can be perceived as 'oh you can go home soon,'" Yau said. The agency had five public information officers managing the event as of Tuesday noon, Voice of OC reported. Most updates appeared on the Fire Authority's X account; the agency's official website listed only a hotline number.

The episode fits a recurring pattern in Orange County's emergency response record. During the 2022 Coastal Fire in Laguna Beach, city officials sent evacuation orders more than an hour before county sheriffs notified residents, according to Voice of OC. A 2019 Orange County Grand Jury report found that "for some, communicating vital emergency information to the public when interagency coordination is essential has not been a priority." The county sheriff's department responded at the time, saying that "information is never complete or linear for the Incident Commanders on scene" and that agencies bear a responsibility to release "only truthful, accurate and validated information," Voice of OC reported.

The evacuation order was lifted Tuesday night. Residents and Garden Grove city council members are pressing the OC Fire Authority for answers on reimbursement options and a formal review of emergency communication procedures before the next disaster strikes.