Thousands flee their homes in O.C., unsure when they can return

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Thousands fled their homes in Orange County due to the chemical leak at a Garden Grove aerospace plant, but it remains unclear how long they will need places to live.Officials said the crisis remains anything but resolved, with a chemical tank still in danger of exploding.Residents in portions of six Orange County cities are covered by the order: Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.Evacuation shelters filled up, along with local hotels.

Fleeing the homes with little notice was one thing.But many are asking how long it will be before they can return home.“The kids are confused, a little worried.

They had a lot of questions when we said we had to evacuate,” said Tricia Quach, 38, who had visited the Cypress Community Center to take her daughter to an art class.“Maybe being blown up, that’s a scary situation.

But we just assured them it’s for safety reasons.” California Evacuation orders have been issued in portions of the cities of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster.She and her husband and two kids, ages 5 and 10, are staying with a family friend at the moment.With nowhere to go the rest of the day, Quach and her neighbor’s family had decided to hang out at the community center for a few hours after the art class.“We kind of don’t know what to expect,” said Helen Fernandez, 40, who lives in Buena Park.

“We are just winging it.”Bar manager Miguel Loo, 30, lives about two or three miles away from the leaking chemical plant.He was shopping with his family around noon in Irvine ahead of his birthday this weekend when they received a notice to evacuate from the city.

California Tens of thousands told to evacuate as a tank of methyl methacrylate at an aerospace plastics facility poses a risk of leaking potentially toxic vapors in the air.“We came back, and half the cars are gone and the other...