A strong smell is taking over San Antonio on Wednesday, June 18. The distinctive odor was caused by a significant release of mercaptan that occurred on the far South Side of San Antonio, according to a media advisory from the San Antonio Fire Department.
SAFD Communications (911) said it has received multiple calls reporting a strong “natural gas” smell. While it smells like gas, it is not harmful on its own, SAFD stated. Mercaptan is a chemical used to give natural gas its distinctive odor, according to SAFD.
Joint Base San Antonio told MySA there were reports of the smell of gas at JBSA-Lackland. The leak was found off the installation and was capped off. The smell will dissipate and the JBSA-Lackland will return to normal operations, the base said.
On Nextdoor, many residents sounded the alarm on the strong odor in San Antonio. Joe Z. in the French Creek Village wrote, “Major gas leak in town, might be coming from Lackland AFB or the 410 area. 911, 311, and CPS Energy phone lines are clogged. Stay inside!!!” In the comments, many neighbors confirmed the sense of a “strong smell” outside.
“Smells strong in Helotes,” Andrea Rogers wrote.
“Strong smell outdoors right now,” Stephanie Wright added.
M&R also posted from Sterling Oaks on Nextdoor and wrote, “If you smell gas. We called and they told us it’s a citywide issue. No gas is leaking; they just put too much odorant inside the pipes.”
The Boerne Police Department also confirmed the strong gas odor in a Facebook post. The department stated the company West Texas Gas was doing a routine line cleanout that caused a strong odorant to make its way to Boerne.
CPS Energy told MySA that the gas odorant mercaptan is used to help people identify the presence of gas. Without it, natural gas is odorless. The odorant alone is not dangerous. CPS Energy and SAFD said there is no danger to residents. The is expected to dissipate and move out of the city shortly.
CPS Energy is sending gas technicians to monitor the situation out of an abundance of caution. The utility service asked the public to continue calling CPS Energy if customers smell gas.
“We have teams ready to answer each call, but because of the high volume of reports due to the neighboring utility’s odorant leak, it might take some time for a CPS Energy gas technician to respond,” CPS Energy said.
If customers ever think they smell gas in their homes, they should always leave the house immediately and call CPS Energy at 210-353-HELP (4357).