SoCalGas Offers Free Cleaning Services For Porter Ranch Residents

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Thousands of Porter Ranch residents uprooted by a natural gas well blowout last year remain out of their homes two months after the leak was stopped.

Residents say they don't want to move back until tests being conducted by the county's health department shows their homes are safe.

Courts have sided with county officials who have won extensions for residents staying in housing paid for by the Southern California Gas Co.

A gas company spokesman says public health officials already deemed that the air in the community was safe and the county is creating uncertainty for residents by continuing to push for housing extensions.

SoCalGas officials are offering free interior cleaning services to residents enrolled in the company's temporary relocation program who choose to
return to their homes.

Nearly half the 8,000 families who moved out of their homes at some point have not returned home since the leak was sealed Feb. 18.

SoCalGas said that they will begin contacting resident enrolled in the temporary relocation program with the free cleaning offer Saturday. The first group eligible "will be those served by one of our largest housing providers," they wrote in a statement.

Other currently relocated residents who are interested in the clean house program may enroll by calling 1-888-314-7645.

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