State finishes review at site of Los Angeles gas blowout

State officials say they completed a safety review of a Los Angeles gas storage facility where a blowout spewed methane for nearly four months.

The Department of Conservation said Tuesday that it would hold public hearings in February before deciding whether to let Southern California Gas Co. resume storage of natural gas at its Aliso Canyon facility.

The blowout discovered in October 2015 drove 8,000 families from their homes and led to mass complaints of nosebleeds, nausea, headaches and other maladies.

The company has been under orders to repair or improve aging wells at what is the largest natural gas storage facility in the West.

The state says more than a third of re-worked wells now pass rigorous tests required after the blowout.

Hearings are scheduled Feb. 1 and 2.