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GARDEN GROVE, California – Federal Bureau of Investigation agents executed a court-authorized search warrant on June 10, 2026, at the GKN Aerospace manufacturing facility in Garden Grove, intensifying a federal probe into a major industrial chemical emergency that triggered the evacuation of about 50,000 residents last month. The plant, operated by a subsidiary of Melrose Industries, was the site of a May 21 incident in which a 34,000-gallon storage tank holding roughly 7,000 gallons of liquid methyl methacrylate began an uncontrolled thermal reaction following a reported failure in the facility’s refrigeration system. According to engineering reports from the Orange County Fire Authority, the cooling system, which normally keeps the volatile compound at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, malfunctioned, causing the chemical to overheat, pressure to spike, and the tank’s steel structure to bulge, activating pressure relief and emergency sprinkler systems as toxic vapors escaped into the surrounding area. The federal warrant, signed by a judge the previous week, authorized agents to seize a wide range of internal documents and physical evidence, including records on the procurement, storage, use, and disposal of methyl methacrylate and samples from any tanks, drums, vats, or other containers believed to contain or to have contained the hazardous material. Investigators also collected maintenance logs and technical manuals for specialized industrial cooling and secondary refrigeration equipment that regulate temperatures in chemical storage units, seeking to determine how the failure contributed to the emergency. The May incident prompted authorities to impose a nine-square-mile exclusion zone spanning six cities, a state of emergency declaration by California Governor Gavin Newsom, and a federal emergency declaration authorizing FEMA support. More than a dozen residents and local businesses, including restaurants and food vendors, have since filed federal lawsuits alleging negligence by GKN Aerospace and Melrose Industries, as environmental and health agencies documented widespread complaints of respiratory irritation, eye burning, headaches, and dizziness during the incident response.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.