Source of pungent smell in Newport-Mesa area remains a mystery
The source of a pungent smell that wafted through the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa area Thursday afternoon remained a mystery Friday, but an official with the Newport Beach Fire Department said a “burp” could be to blame.
Dozens of residents in and around Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach took to social media or called public safety officials starting at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday to complain of a strong odor resembling that of natural gas.
Newport fire officials who responded to the area of West Newport and the Balboa Peninsula noted a “light odor of natural gas that dissipated while they were there,” said Battalion Chief Brian McDonough.
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That, he said Friday, is “usually indicative of some kind of a burp somewhere.”
A what?
Every now and then, McDonough said, natural gas can bubble up to the surface of the ocean. That could cause odors that wrinkle the noses of nearby residents.
On Thursday, Costa Mesa Fire Department Capt. Chris Coates also described the possibility of a “burp,” saying that odors of unknown origin sometimes pop up off the coast, get trapped in the marine layer and make their way onshore.
While a “burp” is one possible explanation, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department said Thursday that the source could have been a “drilling apparatus” somewhere off the coast.
A spokesman from Southern California Gas Co. said Thursday that Newport police told the utility the smell was coming from somewhere offshore.
“It’s unknown if we’ll ever determine” the cause of the smell, Coates said.
Whatever the source, the Newport Beach Police Department said Thursday that the odor did not pose a threat to public safety.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District was informed of the incident, Coates said.
AQMD representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
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Luke Money, lucas.money@latimes.com
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
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