Watch the air clear as the largest natural gas leak in the U.S. finally stops

 By 
Olivia Niland
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

After 16 weeks of gushing uncontrollably, the natural gas leak that drove thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes was finally plugged up Thursday.

The California Air Resources Board captured the moment with a FLIR infrared camera. A timelapse video of the footage released Friday shows the air finally clearing around the Aliso Canyon facility in the Porter Ranch neighborhood.

The massive well had been leaking natural gas, equalling about 4.5 million cars' worth of pollution every day, since Oct. 23, forcing around 6,000 residents to relocate and prompting California's governor to declare a state of emergency.

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