Busiest Mail Day Is That and More for Postal Service

In a year when the U.S. Postal Service added anthrax to the usual challenges of rain, snow, sleet and hail, officials said Monday that the busiest mail day of the year was handled in stride.

Across Southern California, an estimated 20 million cards and letters and 1.5 million packages were postmarked Monday in advance of Christmas, 50% more than normal but on par with last year.

With mail volume down 6% nationwide between Sept. 11 and Thanksgiving, officials are hoping that recent anthrax scares won’t erode public confidence during the key holiday season, which accounts for a third of the postal service’s revenue.

“Every post office that I’ve been to today has long lines,” said David Mazer, regional public affairs manager for the postal service. “Which is good . . . unless you’re in them.”

In fact, with air travel down significantly, mail carriers are bracing for an increase in packages this year.

Wednesday is the deadline to ensure delivery in California by Dec. 25; packages to the East Coast could already benefit from priority mail, officials said.

“People wait until five minutes before we close to try to mail something and then get mad at us because we’re closing,” said Jorge A. Miranda, supervisor of the Reseda post office. “If you want your packages to leave the post office the same day you bring them in, get in here early.”

But this year, customers are being offered a host of new, post-attack suggestions to help keep the deluge moving.

Don’t send candy in envelopes; if it’s crushed and leaks, it could be mistaken for something dangerous. Letters to Santa bulked up with hay for the reindeer aren’t a good idea either. And don’t send toys with batteries installed.

“We don’t want toy drummer boys going off in the box,” said Terri Bouffiou, a postal service spokeswoman. “We can’t take any chances, and we’d have to call the bomb squad if it’s ticking.”

At the Oxnard post office, a line of customers loaded with packages stretched out the door.

“I allow myself about an hour to stand in line,” said Elaine Hesse, 69, who was mailing a stack of presents to Iowa. “But this looks like 15, maybe 20 minutes, tops. That’s pretty good.”

To alleviate the expected onslaught, Postmaster Ray Chavira doubled the number of counter service workers and kept post office doors open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Post offices in Ojai and Thousand Oaks were also open Sunday.

“We’ve done that every year for the past few years,” Chavira said. “And it helps. I’ve seen a lot of smiles today.”

Oxnard resident Jennie Gomez stood at a nearby table and put a few finishing strips of tape on a gift box bound for Hawaii, where her twin nephews live. She said Monday’s line wasn’t nearly as bad as it was Sunday.

“It was horrid,” Gomez said. “I just left. And I was going to go home again today if it was too bad. But this, this is perfect.”

In order to help keep lines moving at Simi Valley’s main post office on Galena Avenue, postal workers were assigned to help customers properly package items and fill out forms before they reached the counters.

“Our goal is to get customers in and out in five minutes,” Postmaster Russ Adams said. “But there were a lot of times today when people waited less than five minutes.”

Pleasant Surprise Greets O.C. Customers

At Orange County’s sprawling postal distribution center in Santa Ana, 2.7 million pieces of mail were expected to be postmarked Monday, more than twice the normal flow.

During lunch hour, the wait for one of seven clerks was about 20 minutes. Jennifer Locke of Huntington Beach was expecting far worse.

“All my friends told me to expect a two-hour wait,” she said. “This is great.”

Chuck Bailey of Costa Mesa said he had empathy for postal workers this year.

“Next to the cops, these guys have as tough a job as anybody around the holidays. I know I see my neighborhood guy wearing a surgical mask with gloves,” Bailey said. “I think they’re doing a great job. I’m amazed how fast the line is moving.”

Van Nuys postal clerk Isabelle Quimayousie was too busy sorting packages, cards and letters to worry about terrorists or anthrax.

“I don’t have time to be concerned,” she said. “I look out for odd addresses and lettering, misspelled words or envelopes with powder on them, but so far I haven’t noticed anything suspicious.”

No Line at Office in Atwater Village

In the Griffith post office’s parking lot in Atwater Village, Dianne Wohlleben buried her head in the trunk of her Chevrolet Malibu, stuffing wrapped presents into a box. She tore packing tape with her teeth and sealed it. Then she frantically dug through the back seat for another package.

“I’ve got one hour to mail this stuff out. . . . I hope I brought my address book,” Wohlleben said. Nearly out of breath, she rushed toward the office, bracing for a long line. She stopped abruptly and gasped. “Oh my gosh, there’s no line,” she said staring at the five people waiting with packages and letters.

Times staff writers Tina Dirmann, Dave McKibben, Daniel Yi, Karima A. Haynes and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.