GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — State officials say natural gas has been found in a home and an abandoned water well in the western Colorado town of De Beque.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported Tuesdaythe Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is investigating the source. Officials say tests show the gas doesn't contain mercaptan, a compound added during the refining process to give gas a recognizable odor.
Authorities are plugging the well.
Officials say a ventilation system is keeping gas levels below combustible levels in the house and the occupants have decided to stay there during the investigation.
Oil and gas companies have offered free gas monitors to area residents.
In April, natural gas leaking from a severed pipeline triggered a house explosion that killed two people in Firestone.