County Infected by Anthrax Angst

Lt. Luis Ochoa spent much of his Sunday shift as watch commander of the Huntington Beach Police Department surfing the Internet.

His purpose: to learn as much as possible about anthrax, America’s latest potential disaster.

“This is all pretty new to us,” said Ochoa, speaking of biological warfare. “We’re kind of learning as we go.”

He was responding to the deluge of phone calls he and other Orange County law enforcement officials received over the weekend concerning various mysterious white powders and suspicious mail.

Callers feared that the stuff--ranging from sugar on a railing at Disney’s California Adventure to an overabundance of letters from a particular lawyer--contained biohazardous chemicals. As a result, police said Sunday, some departments had to add extra personnel--at extra cost--while many were forced to spend hours investigating materials that proved harmless.

“This is ungodly,” said Lt. Larry Abbott, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which was operating on high-alert status with many extra officers on duty. “We’re swamped with calls because people are concerned. This is going to cost the taxpayers a whole lot of money. Our guys are stepping up to the plate and working extra [hours].”

Law enforcement officials would not specify how many extra officers had been called in, how they were being deployed or how many extra calls they were getting.

The calls came as federal authorities expanded their investigation into anthrax contamination in three states. The deadly bacteria were found in packages in Nevada and New York, and five more employees at a Florida media company tested positive for exposure to anthrax spores.

Investigators so far have found no links between the anthrax cases and the terrorist Al Qaeda network of Islamic militant Osama bin Laden.

On Saturday the fear spread to Orange County when Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim was partially closed while a hazardous-materials team investigated a white substance on a handrail leading to a restaurant. It turned out to be sugar, an Anaheim police spokesman said later.

Reports of suspicious materials came from post offices in Tustin and Huntington Beach, where 75 postal workers were evacuated and mail was not delivered to many homes and businesses. Other reports came from Macy’s at Laguna Hills Mall and a Stein Mart in Huntington Beach. None of the materials turned out to be hazardous, police officials said.

The fear appeared to be subsiding somewhat Sunday, police said, but a large number of Anaheim police were still working in the Disney Resort area, and other law enforcement agencies were fielding numerous calls.

“Everybody is calling in and saying they see dust on their cars or a cloud looks different,” said Sgt. Bruce Leamer, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department. The department sent officers to a hardware store to investigate white powder--ultimately found to be harmless--reported on a box of staples.

“I think it’s mostly mass hysteria,” Leamer said, “just people seeing dust. Everything’s suspicious at the moment. I’m talking to someone right now about some suspicious oil, and one guy called because he was getting too many letters from his lawyer.”

Sgt. Mike Bustamante of the Anaheim Police Department agreed. “We’re getting a bunch of paranoid calls,” he said. “Most of it’s like, ‘I got a letter in the mail and I don’t know who it’s from.’ Either they bring them to the front counter or we respond. We’ve had to go out on a bunch of these.”

Whenever possible, police say, dispatchers solve the problem to the caller’s satisfaction by telephone. When that can’t be done, officers are sent to investigate. If the officers still think there’s potential danger, a hazardous-materials team or other appropriate expert is called to the scene.

“We try to err on the side of caution,” said Rick Martinez, an Anaheim police spokesman.

But the volume of calls has left some authorities shaking their heads. And to law enforcement officials accustomed to solving crimes and arresting the criminals, the frustration is almost palpable.

“It’s hard to do more without substance,” said Abbott of the Sheriff’s Department. “I don’t know what you can do. I really wish I did. There are a lot of people in the government wondering what the heck we can do. All we do now is respond.”