Pepper spray blamed in post office closure

For about two hours on Sunday, February 22, the only people who could get into the Sisters Post Office were wearing full chemical protection suits.

The Redmond Hazardous Materials Team was called out to Sisters at noon after several Sisters residents reported difficulty breathing and choking after being in the post office.

Team members suited up and entered the building with instruments to detect the presence of noxious gases or chemicals. They made a systematic search of the entire building, emptying trash cans outside and searching through the trash.

The team could not locate the cause of the problem, but according to Deschutes County Sheriff's Department reports, the symptoms of those exposed indicated that the problem was probably pepper spray.

It was not clear how or why pepper spray was released in the building.