Downtown Tucson, Arizona

Downtown Tucson and the Santa Catalina Mountains.

A semi-truck that was off-gassing down Interstate 10, producing a gas leak smell, resulted in more than 200 calls to the Tucson Fire Department Thursday.

Reports about the odor poured in from South Tucson, the downtown area, and Tucson's west side. El Rio Neighborhood Center,  1390 W. Speedway, was evacuated but later deemed safe when no gas leaks were discovered.   

The truck was carrying mercaptan — a gas that is added to natural gas to make it smell, said Michael Colaianni, a spokesman for the Tucson Fire Department. 

The area has since been cleared and Colaianni said there is no threat to the community.


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