Gas Leak Alarm at UCSB
Stench Led to Search of Campus
A general state of panic took over UCSB on Tuesday, July 21, when multiple reports of a strong odor suggested the presence of a major gas leak on the campus. The UCSB campus police and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department conducted a thorough search for the suspected leak, according to the fire department. During the inspection of campus, an email was sent to all UCSB students informing them of the possible fire danger and requesting that they extinguish any flames. There were no fires, nor any other injuries resulting from the mysterious smell, but multiple buildings on the university campus were evacuated before the search. The fire department concluded that the source of the scent was not on-campus, and was probably coming from offshore. Fire officials believe that strong westerly winds brought in the odor from an oil platform. Fire Captain Dave Sadecki said that incidents and scares similar to this one have happened in the past, though infrequently.
