Our team was recently informed about the natural gas leak in the San Fernando Valley, which was detected at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility located near Porter Ranch.

Natural Gas is a cocktail of various compounds, chiefly methane. Overwise odorless and colorless, natural gas has many types of additives to help identify leaks, including methyl mercaptan, known for its distinct egg-like sulfur smell.

Though SoCalGas and the LA County Health Department claim the leak has no adverse effects on health, residents have been worried for their own well being. The magnitude of this leak has been reported as the cause of several health concerns for Porter Ranch residents.

According to SoCalGas, the leak will not be completely sealed until early February. To contain the leak, SoCalGas must drill down to the sandstone-encased well and seal off the malfunctioning well cap. The well is located 8,000 feet below the surface of the Earth, and according to a SoCalGas spokesperson, drilling has already begun and is approximately 20% of the way. The containment process is estimated to take 3 to 4 months.

SoCalGas has claimed responsibility for relocating over 2,500 families within a 30 mile radius of Porter Ranch. So far, approximately 280 families have already moved with another estimated 1,100 currently searching for short-term housing options.

We at HomeSuite have received calls from brokers, relocation experts, insurance adjusters, and over 20 direct inquiries from tenants to HomeSuite’s site to help Porter Ranch gas leak victims find and relocate to furnished, turn-key homes. As a result, we have pooled all our Los Angeles resources and reached out to our network of landlords in the San Fernando Valley to match families to available homes in real-time. We have so far relocated a total of four families to Glendale, Pasadena, Woodland Hills, and Westwood as of this hour, and we are continuing to find temporary homes for more families as they are forced to leave the Porter Ranch area.

So far all of our HomeSuite brokered homes have had a minimum of three bedrooms and are around the $7-9K/month price point range. Our average turnaround time to house a displaced family has been 1-4 days. All the homes are fully-furnished and come equipped with wifi, cable, electricity, and gas. Furnished short-term rentals are more than corporate relocation services - they can help families in need when moving an entire home’s worth of goods is out of the question.