Powder leads to evacuation

A white, powdery substance on an envelope led to the evacuation of the post office on Forest Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. May 30.

Shops and offices around the post office were ordered vacated, and four people were decontaminated by firefighters, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Darin Lenyi said. The shutdown lasted about six hours.

“Tests were performed on the envelope to determine if there were any hazardous materials involved,” Laguna Beach police said in a written press statement eight hours after the incident began. “All tests were negative for any hazardous material. All indications are that the envelope is a valid piece of mail and will now continue on its journey to the intended recipient.”

Postal officials called police after a postal worker complained of a headache after handling the envelope, which was dropped off at the post office by a man in his 60s, Lenyi said. The envelope was letter-sized and stamped, and carried no return address. The envelope was addressed to the “Witness Protection Program at Harbor Court,” according to police records. The envelope was not opened.

No one was taken to the hospital as a result of exposure to the powder, Lenyi said. The clothing of the people exposed to the substance was bagged, he added. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad and HazMat teams were called in to conduct tests to determine if the powder is a harmful substance, Lenyi said.

Leslie Sweetser, of Downtown Browne’s Flower Shop at the Lumberyard Mall, said a postal worker told her a postal employee had handled a “suspicious package” that made his eyes burn.

Almost immediately, Zinc Cafe and the bus depot on Ocean Avenue at the rear of the post office were vacated.

About 4:30 p.m. a man was stripped down in the middle of the street, and another postal employee was observed near a decontamination bath as a fleet of ambulances waited nearby. Firefighters were wearing full breathing apparatus.

By 5:30 p.m., firefighters had removed their breathing equipment and the incident was scaled down. Forest Avenue was completely opened to traffic, but Ocean Avenue remained closed, as a staging area for police and firefighters.

The police issued a statement at midnight that the substance had proven to be harmless.

Saturday morning downtown streets and offices were opened, and the nearby farmer’s market was busy with customers.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or [email protected].