CHATSWORTH — In the fifth such incident in Southern California in a week, and the third in the San Fernando Valley, authorities evacuated an office building Wednesday because of an anonymous phone threat of a "biological agent."
Like the other incidents, in which calls or letters threatened the release of the deadly bacterium anthrax, the threat triggered a massive response from city, county and federal authorities, even though they suspected it was a hoax.
City fire officials evacuated and quarantined about 70 employees in front of the Time Warner Cable Co. building at 9267 Topanga Canyon Blvd. for several hours while specialists gathered air samples for testing.
LAPD Cmdr. Bruce E. Hagerty said the incidents appear to be unrelated and could be the work of copycats. "We are progressing very well with our investigation and we are confident we will make some arrests," he said.
Hagerty called the expense of investigating the incidents "catastrophic." Officer Don Cox, an LAPD spokesman, put the cost of the four anthrax scares in the city at $2 million. "That's a conservative estimate," he said.
The threat was phoned in to the city Fire Department's dispatch center at 10:15 a.m., but Hagerty said authorities were unable to trace the caller's line.
Employees--who huddled in Red Cross blankets, warmed themselves in their cars and spoke to loved ones on their cellular phones--declined comment. They were told they were clear to leave at 4:15 p.m.
Police closed one lane of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, and part of Prairie Street, where they set up a command center, for much of the day.
Time Warner Cable executives could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, court officials said the Van Nuys facilities would reopen today after being shut down Monday by an anthrax threat that forced the evacuation of 2,000 people. Federal agents determined that no biological agents had been released in the buildings.
The shutdown of the Superior and Municipal courts will cost taxpayers about $400,000, county officials said. Both courthouses will face severe backlogs next week as they try to catch up with delayed cases.
About 100 people were quarantined for eight hours Friday and given antibiotics when an anonymous caller told a court clerk that anthrax had been released into the air conditioning system at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court building in Woodland Hills.
