Video: Largest Gas Leak in US History Finally Plugged

From October 23 of last year to February 11, a ruptured storage well leaked methane gas into the atmosphere. The leak, which took place in Aliso Canyon, near Los Angeles, is the largest gas leak in US history.
Jonathan Zhou
2/22/2016
Updated:
2/22/2016

From October 23 of last year to Feb. 11, a ruptured storage well leaked a constant flow of methane gas into the atmosphere. The leak, which took place in Aliso Canyon, near Los Angeles, is the largest gas leak in US history. 

More than 100,000 tons of methane was released before the leak was plugged, equivalent to burning 900 million gallons of gasoline, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. 

The above footage is a time-lapse of the last 7 seven minutes of the leak on the morning of Feb. 11. 

Although the Southern California Gas Co. has assured local residents that the problem is fixed, activists still want the entire facility to be shut down. 

A woman holds a sign while attending a public hearing before the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) regarding a proposed stipulated abatement order to stop a nearby massive natural gas leak, on Jan. 16, 2016 in Granada Hills, near Porter Ranch, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
A woman holds a sign while attending a public hearing before the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) regarding a proposed stipulated abatement order to stop a nearby massive natural gas leak, on Jan. 16, 2016 in Granada Hills, near Porter Ranch, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

“Residents are fed up with SoCalGas. Residents know that as long as this aging facility remains open, their communities are not safe,” Alexandra Nagy, a organizer at the local Food and Water Watch, told the LA Daily News.

California state legislators have introduced a bill to halt the withdrawal of gas from older wells until state inspectors have examined them for safety.