Section of Pelican Bay State Prison remains closed after receiving suspicious substance

CRESCENT CITY, Ca (KIEM)– The administration building at Pelican Bay State Prison remains closed after a letter was received claiming it contained a suspicious substance.

PBSP investigators sealed the letter, and over 100 employees were placed on precautionary quarantine Tuesday morning.  A HAZMAT team from Humboldt County went to Pelican Bay for preliminary testing of the substance.

The employees were released from quarantine Wednesday morning. There are no reports of injuries or illness, and the inmates were unaffected. 

Also, Centinela State Prison received a similar letter and evacuated staff from its mailroom.

The FBI is conducting follow-up testing of the suspicious substance at Pelican Bay. The results could take several days.