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4mo ago

Newport Beach Completes Methane Venting After Balboa Peninsula Leak With Seven Homes Still Evacuated

Completed venting could allow officials to let residents return as early as this weekend.

Newport Beach, CA – April 25: Aerial view of the Balboa Island Ferry traveling back and forth between the Newport Peninsula and Balboa Island in Newport Beach Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The Balboa Island Ferry has operated in Newport Beach since 1919, but a new mandate handed down by the California Air Resources Board has placed its future, for the first time in little over a century of operation, up in the air. Short-run ferries, like the Balboa Island Ferry, are required to use zero-emission engines by the end of 2025 and the operators of the Ferry cannot afford to convert the boats. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Investigators examine oil seeping from the foundation of a home at the 3600 block of Marcus Avenue in Newport Beach, CA, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Several homes on Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula were under evacuation orders today, Oct. 23, due to a leak of methane gas believed to have been caused by oil seeping from an abandoned well beneath one of the affected properties.(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Overview

  • City crews finished venting gas installed through pipes to relieve pressure beneath the 3600 block of Marcus Avenue.
  • Seven residences, including the property at 3606 Marcus Avenue, remain red‑tagged under mandatory evacuation orders.
  • Officials suspect the leak stems from oil intrusion tied to an abandoned private well capped in 1929, though the source remains under investigation.
  • Newport Beach’s local emergency order restricts access to authorized personnel and enables expedited mitigation with state regulators.
  • The fire chief reported methane and hydrogen sulfide reached highly flammable levels, but no injuries were reported.