Garden Grove aerospace firm to pay up to $100 million to residents who evacuated over chemical leak

A major aerospace company responsible for a chemical leak in Garden Grove in May will pay up to $100 million to residents forced to evacuate during the emergency under an agreement the company reached with the Orange County district attorney.

More than 50,000 residents had to evacuate when a pressurized chemical tank owned by GKN Aerospace started to heat dangerously on May 21. The company’s cooling system failed to bring the temperatures down, and fire officials warned the tank could explode or cause a major spill. The tank contained about 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a toxic chemical used to make plastics.

The company has decommissioned the tank involved in the incident, it said.

About 13,000 to 17,000 households in the neighborhood around the GKN Aerospace facility had to evacuate over five days, the district attorney’s office said. Under the claim program announced Monday, residents and businesses are to be reimbursed for expenses such as hotel stays, loss of use, meals, transportation and loss of wages.

“The community has an absolute expectation that businesses operating within their neighborhoods operate safely and lawfully,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “I am pleased that GKN has been and continues to be responsive to any and all requests throughout this investigation.”

California

Orange County demands $4 million from company at center of Garden Grove chemical crisis

Orange County is demanding that GKN Aerospace, the company whose Garden Grove facility sparked a chemical crisis that forced wide evacuations across six cities, pay more than $4 million to cover costs stemming from the emergency.

July 18, 2026

The company said in a statement that it expects people to be able to start submitting claims this fall, with payments for eligible claims to follow “swiftly thereafter.” The firm did not specify how people could apply, but the reimbursement program will be administered by a third party unaffiliated with the company, the district attorney’s office said. GKN said in its statement that it would provide further details in coming weeks.

In addition to the $100-million settlement, GKN contributed $3 million to a fund intended to help those affected by the leak. That fund has already reached the maximum number of applicants, according to Orange County United Way.

Attorneys at two law firms representing residents in a class-action suit against GKN advised residents to approach the claims program with caution.

“The devil is in the details, and right now there aren’t any,” Carlos X. Colorado, an attorney at X-Law, said in a statement. “Until we see how this program will actually be administered, families who lost wages, businesses that lost weeks of revenue, and residents who are still dealing with health concerns have no way to know what this really means for them.”

Representatives of X-Law and Presidio Law Firm said there were major unanswered questions about the program. They include whether accepting payment would require claimants to waive legal rights, what categories of loss would be covered and whether eligibility is limited to people living in the evacuation zone or if it extends to the six-city area affected by vapor exposure, school closures and business disruptions.

GKN Aerospace, based in the United Kingdom, is a major international manufacturer of airplane parts, with plants in 12 countries. The plant in Garden Grove manufactures the canopy for the F-35 fighter jet.

Work at GKN’s plant has been put on hold but could resume as soon as Sept. 28, according to the district attorney’s statement, “contingent upon full compliance with required safety standards, ongoing monitoring protocols, any regulatory obligations and a court-approved safety plan.”

The district attorney’s office said that GKN performs a crucial role in manufacturing military aircraft, and that it supports the company’s targeted reopening date “in light of the important work GKN performs for the economy and the nation.”

The office recently concluded its criminal investigation into GKN and is now negotiating a civil disposition with the company. In addition to the $100-million reimbursement program announced Monday, the office is seeking reimbursement for emergency services agencies that responded to the crisis as well as civil penalties related to the hazmat situation.