Residents in Southwest Washington from Vancouver to Chehalis reported a foul odor so strong, it roused some people from sleep Tuesday night, causing nausea, headaches and burning lungs and sinuses, according to Facebook comments directed to Cowlitz and Clark county emergency agencies.
Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management started receiving reports about a terrible odor starting at 6:30 p.m. , Cowlitz County’s Emergency Management director Larry Hembree said in an statement today.
Winds carried the odor south to Clark County, where residents in Ridgefield, La Center, Battle Ground, Hazel Dell and downtown Vancouver reported smelling something repulsive.
“In Ridgefield it smells like something between cabbage and a dirty garbage can,” said one commenter on Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency’s Facebook page at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.
“It smells so bad in Salmon Creek area, I thought the septic tank blew on my house,” said another at 12:55 a.m. today.
Hembree said the Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management is working with Washington State Emergency Management and other agencies to investigate possible causes — including leaks from a ship, train or pipeline; emissions from Scappoose Bio Solids or other industry; and venting from Mount St. Helens.
From the time the odor was first reported until now, according to Hembree’s statement, “there have been no abnormal activities or readings.”
The odor made many people unwell, with complaints ranging from nausea and headaches to eye and throat irritation and burning sensations in the nose and lungs. However, without being able to confirm the odor’s source, emergency officials cannot determine whether or not the odor is harmful.
“I live in Clark County (on Fourth Plain) near Stapleton. I woke up with my lungs burning,” posted a commenter at 1:53 a.m. today.
Clark Regional Emergency Services said in a Facebook statement around noon today that the Washington State Emergency Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Ecology are continuing to investigate the cause of the terrible odor.
Complaints in Clark County were at their peak from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. this morning. CRESA’s statement reported that the odor reached some areas of Portland before winds pushed it north again. No pipelines or large industrial complexes along the Interstate 5 corridor have reported any anomalies, leaks or loss of pressure and the Cascades Volcano Observatory has ruled out Mount St. Helens as the source of the odor. All inquiries have led to dead ends, said Greg Rossmiller, CRESA’s 911 operations manager.
“We don’t have any further information,” Rossmiller said. “As far as I know, they’re still unsure what the issue was. It does seem like it originated in Cowlitz County.”
Typically, Rossmiller said, people described the odor as a “natural gas smell,” and one person detected a chemical odor like burning plastic. Rossmiller, who lives in Portland, said he did not smell anything out of the ordinary, but had reports from “staff on duty last night that they could definitely smell something different. It definitely affected a wide area.”
Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management said in a statement that callers described the odor as gas, propane, burning garbage, burning rubber and ammonia.
CRESA investigated possible sources, including natural gas pipelines and other industrial sites, but inquiries didn’t yield any indications that anything was amiss. Calls started to taper off around 3 a.m., Rossmiller said. Anyone in medical distress due to the odor should call 911 for emergency care, he added.
Clark Regional Emergency Services recommended in a statement on Facebook, that anyone still affected by the odor should close windows and doors, turn off anything that uses outside air (such as air conditioning), stay indoors and call 360-737-1911 to report any unusual smells.
