LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — Part of a highway in Washington state has reopened after it was closed Thursday in both directions because of a bomb threat, authorities said.
Chelan County emergency officials said dispatchers received the threat at 4:53 p.m. Thursday, prompting the partial closure of U.S. Highway 2 in the central Washington mountain town of Leavenworth.
At about 8:15 p.m. responders from multiple local agencies secured the perimeter. No devices were found, authorities said.
No further information about the threat was released.
Leavenworth is in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle.
The incident began when a threat was made sometime after 5 p.m., according to Wenatchee World. A public safety alert was issued at 7:04 p.m., advising the public to shelter in place and avoid areas of downtown. Traffic was also diverted, with a command post being established by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office at a fire station on Chumstick Highway.
A bomb-sniffing dog was brought in and authorities searched the area. No bombs or suspicious devices were found.
“This is the second time in the last 15 months that downtown Leavenworth has evacuated due to a bomb threat,” according to the Wenatchee World. “In December 2020, an unidentified man called RiverCom Dispatch and said there was a bomb in an unspecified location in Leavenworth. No bomb was found.”
— The Associated Press and Wenatchee World contributed to this report.
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