Evacuations may be ending for residents near Methane Spill
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, there was a press briefing that may satisfy the 37 worried families that were evacuated from their homes following a methane spill in the area. The methane leaked into a well in the Hawthorne area beginning last Thursday and workers have been trying to control the leak ever since. They successfully stopped the flow of water and methane, but they have been trying to fully cap it and on Monday they began pouring mud into the well in an attempt to get it shut. The company controlling the well had to then assemble a piping system in order to relieve pressure on the well before they could pump any mud in order for the mud to be able to cap off the well. The flow of water and methane had stopped, but crews have been injecting mud and other materials to full plug the well. According to geologists, the methane gas comes naturally through pockets under much of Southern California flatlands. When the gas is collected by pipelines, the methane is scented with an additive and reaches businesses and homes as “natural gas.” This could be very dangerous if the amount of methane displaces oxygen in an enclosed space. All of this information is as of Wednesday afternoon and officials say that residents will be able to return to their homes soon.
