County building shut down by powder scare
Taylor Zachary of the Kalispell Fire Department removes the caution tape which surrounded the parking lot of the Earl Bennett Building on Friday morning.
The Earl Bennett Building will reopen today after a powdery substance found in an envelope caused the building to be closed Thursday afternoon, according to the Flathead County Health Department.
Health Officer Joe Russell said field tests found nothing harmful in the substance. A test at the state’s public health laboratory in Helena returned inconclusive, but Russell said he is confident the material poses no harm.
"I think we've taken all the precautionary steps and we're making the right moves now," Russell said.
The powder might be related to construction at the address it was sent from, Russell said. Most of it was cleaned up with disinfectant, he said.
The Earl Bennett Building houses the county’s health department, planning and zoning offices. The envelope was opened in a temporary office of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Russell planned to approve the reopening of the building by noon today.
See Saturday's Inter Lake for full details.