Residents in Tempe and Phoenix Report Strong Gas Odor; Officials Find No Leak

Residents of several Tempe and Phoenix neighborhoods reported a strong smell of natural gas outside their homes on the night of July 6, but local authorities said they found no evidence of a leak.

Around 9 p.m., Tempe resident Beth Dietz stepped out her front door and was struck by an overwhelming gas odor. Her neighborhood lies between Mill Avenue and Rural Road, and between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue. She said she could not think of a source at her own home, since the gas line to her house had been cut years earlier. She then noticed several neighbors outside who had smelled the same thing.

"I started feeling nauseous, and then, like I said, these other neighbors were saying they were feeling the same thing, and the smell was super strong," Dietz said. She compared it to a major leak inside a building, except that she and her neighbors were outdoors.

Dietz said she called Southwest Gas, whose representatives told her the company had received more than 100 calls about the odor from Tempe and Phoenix. A Southwest Gas truck arrived in the neighborhood a short time later.

Neighbor Michael Monti said he noticed the smell after his two teenagers each asked whether he smelled gas. He checked his gas stove, then saw the utility truck outside a neighbor's home and asked whether there was a leak. According to Monti, the worker, who was setting out traffic cones, gave a somewhat agitated answer that referred to a leak from a truck in Phoenix that was spreading the odor. Dietz and another neighbor, Liz Boettcher, said they were told something similar. Boettcher recalled the driver mentioning an accident or leak on the 60 that was moving eastward.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said a disabled vehicle was on the shoulder of U.S. 60 near the Broadway Curve at about 8:45 p.m. on July 6, but it had no further information. The Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed the disabled vehicle but said it was not leaking fuel and was not a gas truck.

Southwest Gas said in a statement that it responded to odor calls in Phoenix and Tempe that night and found its system "operating safely." It later attributed the odor to an unspecified third party and referred KJZZ's questions, including how many calls it received and whether its representatives blamed a disabled vehicle, to the Phoenix Fire Department.

Phoenix fire officials said they received two calls. Around 7:30 p.m., Phoenix and Tempe crews went to the 4400 block of South 21st Street and smelled no gas, with equipment showing zero natural-gas readings. Around 9:50 p.m., crews responded to an apartment complex in the 4200 block of South 47th Place, checked it "inside and out" and again recorded zero readings. A crew stayed until Southwest Gas arrived and confirmed there was no leak.

The Tempe Fire Department said it received five calls, found no emergency and handed the scenes to Southwest Gas, adding that there was no broader public danger. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality said it received no reports about the incident.

Residents are still seeking an explanation. "I want to know what happened, because that was a lot of gas," Dietz said, adding that she believed it was dangerous. She said she felt sick all night: "I felt like throwing up all night."