A damaged chemical tank in Southern California has a crack, potentially lowering the risk of a cataclysmic explosion, though an evacuation order remains in effect for some 50,000 area residents with no timeline on when they can return,

Thousands are under evacuation orders in California as officials work to cool off an overheating chemical tank at risk of exploding.

Crews in Southern California are again working through the night to stop a massive tank filled with a toxic chemical from leaking or causing a catastrophic explosion as tens of thousands of residents remain evacuated due to possible health risks and the prospect of damage from a blast.

One California town is in a state of emergency and 50,000 people are under an evacuation order as a malfunctioning chemical tank at an aerospace plant is overheating and could leak or explode.

Firefighters on Saturday were trying to cool a chemical tank “literally on the edge” of exploding in Garden Grove, California, as they worked to avert a disastrous “worst-case” scenario, the incident’s commander said.

More than 50,000 people have been evacuated due to a failing industrial tank filled with an extremely hazardous chemical that is leaking from an aerospace facility in Southern California, and it could explode.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Orange County, Calif., in response to a hazardous chemical incident there.

Authorities are bracing for the possibility that a damaged chemical tank at a facility in Southern California could leak or explode