This afternoon at about 5pm, an odor washed over Encinitas that was strong enough to make people worried about a possible gas leak at least as far as from the Ecke YMCA to the coastal corridor.
Witnesses reported a chemical smell that was similar to natural gas, but lacked the distinct onion smell of natural gas.
There was an onshore breeze, so the origin of the odor is likely west of I-5. Fire engine sirens were heard near 101 at the time.
UPDATE: Google hits are coming in searching for news on the smell in Cardiff and Solana Beach. This is big.
UPDATE: A similar odor was reported over a wide section of coastline last August, and investigators still don't know what it was.
UPDATE: Pet theory here.
smelled really strong here in Leucadia east of the 5, not so bad now but kids were complaining of headaches
ReplyDeleteI left my office in Encinitas at 5PM and it smelled there pretty bad. Got to my house in Solana by 5:15. It rolled in here about 525PM. Really bad now.
ReplyDeleteHeadaches all around in Cardiff, better now.
ReplyDeleteI smelled it too around 5 PM in Encinitas. Still have a lingering headache. Something similar happened on August 11 last year and the experts never came up with an explanation as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteWe are smelling it outdoors but really badly indoors too in Rancho Santa Fe. 6pm.
ReplyDeleteMention on NBC San Diego, but still no explanation. It was REALLY bad in Cardiff around 5:15. Seems to be gone now.
ReplyDeleteFilbertos is the source!
ReplyDeleteNot the same smell that occured last year. Last year it was more of a diesal or jet fuel smell. Today's was a different smell, more like natural gas. They both definately came from offshore.
ReplyDeleteSecret experiments by the government.
ReplyDeleteProbably just a natural gas bubble under the ocean that made its way to the surface.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.negasco.com/safety/smell.php
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Purified methane, oxygen, CO2 and nitrogen are basically odorless, so the gas company puts an odor in so you'll notice that your house is about to blow up.
DeleteBut presumably those gases come with a little other stuff (sulfur, etc.) in their natural state underground that you smell when it comes up.
It did smell like sulfur actually, and I went to the beach yesterday around 6pm Ponto Beach and it looked like neon green stuff washing ashore I know that couldn't be a coincidence .
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