CARLSBAD, Calif. — Have you smelled it?
From Oceanside to Encinitas to Fallbrook, residents throughout North County have been reporting a foul odor in the air.
Some have been speculating whether Thursday's lithium battery fire in Escondido could be the source. While authorities say that fire is not related, they still aren't able to pinpoint the cause of the stench.
Some residents are describing this foul odor as smelling like fire or tar or even a chemical. Local authorities in North County are working with County health officials trying to get to the bottom of this unpleasant scent.
"I was in Oceanside, and now I'm here in Carlsbad and I still smell it!" said mom Maya Faulkner, who is concerned about the impact this odor could be having on her three-year-old daughter Jaden.
"It's like this weird musty smell in the air, and it just started today," she told CBS 8.
"It smells like a chemical smell," said Carlsbad resident Jameson Haslam. "Something gross."
"It smelled almost like a paint, or a chalk smell to me when I was at school today," added his daughter Noe.
Carlsbad resident Patricia Simpson has frequently noticed a chemical-like odor in the past and said it quickly affects her.
"I get an immediate headache," she said. "I just don't feel good and my sinuses go crazy!"
.While the source remains unknown, there is no lack of theories.
"My one friend was saying, 'it is so hot the kelp is melting,' and that's the smell," Jameson Haslam said.
Aside from melting kelp, others are pointing the finger at this week's lithium battery fire at an SDG&E battery storage facility in Escondido..
SDG&E said that the fire, which is now extinguished, is not the cause.
"Due to the direction of the winds and distance from the incident, we do not have any reason to believe the reported smell in Encinitas and surrounding areas is related to the battery fire in Escondido," a spokesperson for SDG&E said.
Late Friday evening, the county's Air Pollution Control District categorically ruled out the battery facility fire as the source, confirming that field inspectors have documented odors resembling a mix of plastic and asphalt/oil which quickly dissipate, adding that they are "unable to identify the source at this time."
In the meantime, the Coast Guard said that it has had no reports of any spills in the area, as the mystery of this strange smell's source continues to linger.
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