Porter Ranch couple says they're still waiting for relocation
It's been two months since a massive underground leak near Porter Ranch was reported by Southern California Gas Company. Since then, the gas company says they've helped relocate 2,200 people.
Frances Harmon and Doug Macleod are two of the roughly 3,600 people still looking to relocate.
They have been trying to get themselves and their dogs out of their home for more than forty days.
Wednesday morning, their small dog began throwing up.
"He's never thrown up before. ...and they're both very lethargic," said Harmon.
The couple says Southern California Gas Company is required to relocate Porter Ranch families wanting to leave within 72 hours.
"We are proof that it isn't happening," says Harmon.
Now the couple is holding their breath, hoping helps comes fast.
"I was having chest tightness even chest pain. Made me wonder if I was having a heart attack," said Macleod.
A spokesperson with So Cal Gas Company says they have solutions.
"If folks want to go out on their own and find a temporary relocation and come back with us, we will reimburse them until their case workers work through the back log that we're experiencing," says spokesperson Mike Mizrahi.
The couple says they don't believe the reimbursement will happen in a timely fashion. And they can't afford to wait for the checks.
"Expedite is the word we hear a lot," says Harmon.
But they also wonder how long they can afford to keep breathing the air here. They say they can afford to keep breathing the air here.
They say they can see black spots from the gas leak even on their car.
"It doesn't even come off," says Harmon.
A growing fear now is that even when they leave, they don't know if they'll ever feel safe enough to come back.
"There's not as far as I know long term studies on methane exposure because you get the heck away from it. We're the test cases for what this does to a person long term," says Macleod.