Tens of thousands of residents and businesses owners in and near Garden Grove Thursday slowly returned to their regular routines a week after an overheating chemical tank prompted mass evacuations, but their financial problems may have just begun.

Despite some promises from elected officials that they will help victims get reimbursed for the money they had spent on hotel stays, food and other expenses, there were no concrete plans or timeline as of Thursday.

Eric Gever is among the evacuees who spent several hundreds of dollars after staying in hotels for four nights, but he said when he filed a claim with his insurance company, based on the loss of use civil authority clause in his policy, which says “civil authority pays for your additional living expenses when a government agency prohibits access to your home.”

To his surprise, the claim was denied.

“I submitted about $600 of expenses for the hotel,” said Gever, adding that he thought his insurance would cover the hotel expenses since his home was under a mandatory evacuation. “The advisor looked at it and said, ‘Well, I’m just going to let you know, that we are going to reject this because this is something that is not covered.”

The Cypress resident said the insurance company told him because there was no actual explosion, the loss of use under the terms of agreement does not apply.

“I’m kind of shocked that an insurance company would almost root for something to happen in order for you to be made whole,” he said.

While most insurance companies cover physical damage, not all of them will include risk or threat of damage, according to Pete Moraga from Insurance Information Institute, a national nonprofit.

“In (Gever’s) case, it was a threat, and there wasn’t physical damage or physical damage even to any other house in the area, so that would be the language on the policy that would be in effect,” Moraga said.

Experts advise people to hold onto their receipts, so they are ready to submit claims if the city or county steps into help later.

When NBCLA reached out to Gever’s insurance company, the firm said it is not rejecting the claim; it’s now working with the victim to handle the claim.

Orange County residents who were affected by the evacuation order in the chemical incident voiced their concerns and anger over the emergency. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

For small businesses that were forced to close for several days and unable to make money during the busy Memorial Day weekend, the Orange County government urged owners to document all their loses and fill out the form on its website. Officials said they will have to assess the overall damage before requesting state assistance.

If approved, the state could then seek federal support through the Small Business Administration, which would then offer loans to impacted businesses.

The county is also asking GKN Aerospace behind the 30,000-gallon chemical tank to help cover the losses for businesses. The company said it is “committed to understanding what occurred and identifying ways” to support the victims.

The city of Garden Grove was expected to host a webinar on Friday at 9 a.m. for impacted businesses to share information on resources and support. The webinar, which will be hosted in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean, will require a pre-registration for those who want to attend. Find information here.