© 2026 ABC News

Residents are reporting smells similar to petroleum, paint thinner or butane in the air.

Capt. Tony Bommarito, a public information officer for Orange County Fire, told ABC News that a recent vector control spray for mosquitoes was \"not the cause of the odor.\"

“The OC Vector Control did a targeted spray in a small area with a backpack sprayer,\" Bommarito said. \"It was completely odorless and it’s not the cause of the odor that people have been reporting.”

A spokesperson for the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District concurred, saying “the spray is odorless.”

Regarding the chemical smell, you could also report to AQMD at 1-800-288-7664. If you begin to experience any abnormal symptoms, please call 911 to report a medical emergency.

— Costa Mesa FD (@CMFD_PIO) August 17, 2018

The ongoing investigation is now being handled by South Coast Air Quality Management, officials said.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included the wrong title for Capt. Bommarito and incorrectly quoted him. We regret the error.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Health/Wellness/mysterious-odor-plaguing-residents-prompting-municipal-finger-pointing/story?id=57245174","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/mysterious-odor-plaguing-residents-prompting-municipal-finger-pointing-57245174","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"17:44","publishDate":"08-17-2018","updatedTime":"03:59","updatedDate":"08-18-2018","socialImage":{"ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-16x9.png","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/17/2018 17:44:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":57245174,"headline":"Mystery odor stinking up Orange County cities ","mediaAssetTitle":"MYSTERY SMELL IN ORANGE COUNTY ","description":"A mysterious odor is causing confusion and finger-pointing in California.","duration":"3:45","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/08/180817_vod_live_headlines_6p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["137060236","137028746","136712647"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"October 7, 2026","headline":"French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","section":"News","slug":"/video/137060236","id":"137060236","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: French protests as hundreds of schools partially shut down this week","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261007_gma_burridge_france1_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"October 6, 2026","headline":"How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","section":"News","slug":"/video/137028746","id":"137028746","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: How abandoned mines across America are wreaking havoc on homeowners","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261006_gma_job_mines1_741_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"September 24, 2026","headline":"Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast ","section":"News","slug":"/video/136712647","id":"136712647","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast and hurricane heading for Hawaii","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Tracking the Nor'easter impacting the East Coast and hurricane heading for Hawaii","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260924_gma_zee_storm1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Mystery odor stinking up Orange County cities ","description":"A mysterious odor is causing confusion and finger-pointing in California.","duration":"3:45","uploadDate":"08-17-2018","publication":"08-17-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/08/180817_vod_live_headlines_6p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/08/180817_vod_live_headlines_6p_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/mysterious-odor-plaguing-residents-prompting-municipal-finger-pointing-57245174"}},"playlist":[{"id":"137443017","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137471181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136253720","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137220313","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137234817","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137147457","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137132187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945841","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136930796","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136874802","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136841854","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136766868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136694294","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136682772","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136631130","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136644492","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136623234","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136614308","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136605272","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Mystery odor stinking up Orange County cities ","pubTime":"13:44","pubDate":"08-17-2018","modTime":"23:59","modDate":"08-17-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":57245174,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Mystery odor stinking up Orange County cities ","mediaAssetTitle":"MYSTERY SMELL IN ORANGE COUNTY ","videoId":57245174,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/mysterious-odor-plaguing-residents-prompting-municipal-finger-pointing-57245174"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/57245174","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/57245174","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};