UPDATED: Strong Odor Forces Evacuation at Laguna Beach Hotel

LAGUNA BEACH, CA A strong odor prompted the evacuation of a Laguna Beach hotel Friday morning after several customers reported feeling sick.

According to the Laguna Beach Police Department, a Hazmat investigation is ongoing at the La Casa del Camino hotel, at 1289 S. Coast Highway. There is no threat to the surrounding community, according to authorities.

The incident started at 6:45 a.m. when a hotel employee called the Laguna Beach Fire Department to report a strong chemical smell along with guests complaining of sore throats and irritated eyes.

Firefighters arrived on scene and immediately began conducting voluntary evacuations. That’s when they made contact with “a male subject who seemed to be having a reaction to the odor” but he refused to evacuate from inside his room on the third floor, according to the Laguna Beach Police Department.

"The SWAT team went into the room. We did not locate the individual. We did not see anything suspicious,” said Laguna Beach Police Department Emergency Operation Coordinator Jordan Villwock. “It’s believed that the subject possibly left before our arrival this morning.”

At 7:19 AM the department was called to the scene to assist due to the suspicious circumstances, according to a statement put out by the department. "At this time the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad and SWAT team, along with the Orange County Fire Authority’s Hazmat unit is assisting with the investigation, and to identify the source of the odor."

At this point, investigators are still trying to determine where the odor originated, said Villwock.

The scene was immediately contained this morning, and there was no threat to the surrounding community, he added.

No hotel guests were injured or hospitalized as a result of the ongoing incident.

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