Location of Massive California Natural Gas Leak

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California is dealing with one of the worst environmental disasters the state has ever seen. Depending on when this huge natural gas leak is finally stopped, it could be one of the worst the world has seen. It started on October 23, 2015 and has been leaking for over two months already. Experts are saying it could be two or more months until the Southern California Gas Company is able to drill to the bottom of the well and install a plug. It’s estimated that the leak is spewing 1200 tons of methane daily. Methane gas is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is a damaging greenhouse gas.

Residents in the community of Porter Ranch at the north end of the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles have been getting sick and are being relocated to protect their health. The cost of this disaster could exceed a billion dollars after all the lawsuits are settled. It has been dubbed the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak which is an accurate name, but this is not the better-known Aliso Canyon in Orange County near Laguna Beach, CA.

Here is a satellite image pin-pointing the location of the gas leak.

 

A topographic map of the area can be found here:

Aliso Canyon in Los Angeles County

Photo taken on Dec 17, 2015 by EARTHWORKS via wikimedia.org