Hazardous Gas Odor Reported In Chatsworth

CHATSWORTH, CA — Hazardous materials teams were deployed Tuesday morning to investigate a report of a gas or sulfur odor near the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Field.

Reports of the gas odors came from Chatsworth and Santa Clarita. County fire crews, hazmat units, and a team from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) arrived at around 9:30, but did not detect any odors. Bradley J. Whitaker, senior public information specialist for the SCAQMD, said that no elevated levels of methane were detected, but the investigation is ongoing.

The area was the site of one what is said to be the single worst natural gas leak in U.S. history in October 2015, when a massive leak into the storage field released estimated 97,1000 tons of methane into the atmosphere. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate the nearby areas, former Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, and a slew of lawsuits followed. Gov. Newsom has called on California utility regulators to look into shutting the facility down permanently.

— City News Service contributed to this report.