Fire Officials Rule Out Threat of Explosion From Damaged OC Chemical Tank

Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, May 25, 2026

• Some good news from Orange County, as fire officials have ruled out the possibility that a damaged chemical tank will explode. About 50,000 people remain under evacuation orders in Orange County, and several shelters have quickly filled up. It’s unclear when evacuees might be able to return home.
• A young boxer from the remote Fresno County town of Huron won bronze in her weight class in the national Golden Gloves tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma this month. To get there, she had to win the California Golden Gloves State Championship in Pasadena in April. But her road to success hasn’t been easy.

Risk of a catastrophic explosion has been eliminated at chemical tank in California

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.

The results of the evaluation was “incredibly positive news,” and allowed officials to turn the corner after days of concern about a possible explosion, said Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey. However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove. There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”

Covey didn’t say in the recorded message what the most likely outcome might be but officials had previously said they hoped to cool off the chemical inside the tank so it wouldn’t leak or explode. The tank’s interior had cooled to 93 degrees F, Covey said, down from 100 degrees Sunday.

After the tank at GKN Aerospace overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts. As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton. Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.

Some 50,000 people in Orange County are still under evacuation orders. It’s unclear when they might be lifted.

A California boxer represents her town in national championship

If you met 21-year-old Shavana Trejo on the street, your first thought would not be “boxer.” She’s small – about 5 feet 3 inches – and weighs 119 pounds. Her comportment is understated – gentle, even. But watch her in the ring at the Underdogs Boxing Club in the rural town of Avenal in Kings County and there’s a huge transformation. She punches with a gusto that comes from deep within her. She’s fiery and aggressive.

Her punches have paid off. Last month, Trejo won the California Golden Gloves State Championship in Pasadena for her weight class, which is 112 to 119 pounds. And then earlier this month, she was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, competing in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. The road to Tulsa hasn’t been easy.

“I’ve been through hell, honestly. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in my life,” she said. “Just hitting the bag. It’s like you’re releasing bad, negative energy.” Trejo said she was a shy, quiet kid, and she was bullied a lot. “I would come home with black eyes. I would come home with my hair cut, slime thrown in my hair,” she said.

But she never hit back – except in the ring. She started competing at age 13. She was great at other sports, too. As a high school junior, she was on her way to breaking a school record in basketball when she decided to heed her dad’s advice and focus on just one sport – boxing. Since then, she’s won 14 belts. “My dad’s like, ‘look, I believe in you. If I didn’t believe in you, I wouldn’t tell you you’ve got to pick one,’” she said.

She said she’s sacrificed a lot for boxing. Her daily schedule is packed and she bounces around a lot. She lives in the town of Huron and starts every day with early-morning strength training at a gym in nearby Hanford. During the day, she works a full-time job at a fast food restaurant in Kettleman City. And every evening, she’s at the boxing club in Avenal.

Trejo isn’t the only champion boxer who has worked out in this gym. Former world champion light welterweight and 2012 U.S. Olympic boxer Jose Ramirez trained here years ago, too. The nonprofit gym hosts a mix of pro boxers, amateurs and kids who just need a safe place to come after school. On any given day, about 20 to 30 kids are at the gym.

So is Trejo’s father, Michael Trejo, who can be heard directing the kids to squat, lunge and jump. He started out as a volunteer coach at the gym in 2013, not long after Ramirez was in the Olympics. He said he knew his daughter was going to be a star athlete when she was just a preschooler. He remembers taking her to a track at a middle school in Huron. “She was wearing a little dress and sandals. I just sat in the bleachers. I said ‘want to try running?’ She said, ‘yeah.’ She ran about a mile and a half without stopping, at four years old,” he said.