Natural Gas Odor Reported Near Storage Site

The scent of escaping natural gas was being reported Tuesday throughout the northwest Valley, but the odor should dissipate by midday, according to Denise King of the Southern California Gas Co.

"It doesn't pose any safety concerns," she said. Fire agencies were notified as a precaution, she said.

Routine overnight maintenance of dehydration equipment at the Aliso Canyon underground storage facility in the foothills above Chatsworth extended into the morning, she said. Normally work is completed during sleeping hours when people don't notice a natural gas release, King said.

Holding 80 million cubic feet of natural gas, the Aliso Canyon storage field is the company's largest  in Southern California and one of the largest in the country. It opened in 1974 on a depleted oilfield that had been in operation since the 1930s north of what is now Sesnon Boulevard and Tampa Avenue.

Although natural gas is normally odorless, a strong scent is added so leaks can easily be detected.

Chatsworth Patch received multiple emails from readers reporting a strong smell of natural gas at Cal State Northridge, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills.

One reader emailed: "My neighbor's carbon monoxide detector went off this morning and she smelled gas so she called the gas company. They told her that they are releasing gas in Porter Ranch and Granada Hills this morning. I smelled the gas too when I opened my front door. Very strong."

An automated Robocall to members of the Cal State Northridge community said the gas company was purging some lines and the smell would go away by midday.

The Aliso Canyon gas storage facility has been the subject of major debate in neighborhoods south of Sesnon Boulevard. The Gas Co. has plans to modernize equipment and convert from gas-powered turbines to electricity.

Some residents have expressed concern about brush clearance on Gas Co. property and fire safety in conjunction with this conversion project.

The $200-million upgrade north of Chatsworth requires more power lines. A downed line was blamed for the 2008 blaze that scorched more than 14,000 acres.