Several residents reported a distinct odor of gas wafting through the air last week in Ignacio, but a fire official says the smell came from a device intended to give natural gas its pungent aroma – and there was no gas leak.

Residents began noticing the odor Wednesday and it persisted until Friday, said Joseph Kuzma, with the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado. Some people called 911 to report a possible gas leak, according to Ignacio Public Works.

On Monday, Brad Eggers with the Los Pinos Fire Protect District, said the odor was a leak from an “odorizer pot” on the west side of town. An odorizer pot adds a skunk-like smell to natural gas – usually a mercaptan liquid – which enables it to be readily detected in the event of a leak.

“That’s what people smelled,” Eggers said. “... It wasn’t a gas leak.”

molsen@durangoherald.com