Wide-ranging reports of a gas odor over several hours had Northwest Natural Gas officials searching for the source Friday morning.
But the Portland-based utility never detected gas in the air and couldn’t identify the source of the odor, said spokeswoman Jenna Cooper-Gross. The smell had dissipated by early Friday afternoon, as did reports of it, she said.
Northwest Natural received calls about the odor from the Portland-Vancouver area, and as far away as Ridgefield, Longview and St. Helens, Ore., Cooper-Gross said. Reports came in as early as 5:30 a.m., she said.
Cooper-Gross said the utility heard that the odor could be linked to a vessel on the Columbia River, but that has not been verified.
Several vessels passed through the river on their way to the Port of Portland on Friday morning, including at least one large container ship. Trains hauling a variety of materials also pass through the area.
