UPDATE

All was normal Saturday morning in downtown Laguna Beach, after a “white powder” scare at the Laguna Beach Post Office proved to be unfounded.

A white, powdery substance on an envelope led to the evacuation of the Post Office on Forest Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. Friday. 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. “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. Lenyi would not say to whom the envelope was addressed. 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.

Around 4:30 p.m. a man was stripped down in the middle of the street and another postal employee was observed near a decontamation 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.

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

NOTE: To view a slide show of the incident, go to “Multimedia” menu in top navigation bar and click on “Top shot gallery.”