'Hazmat' Situations in Edmonds and Seattle Not Thought to be Related

Two possible hazmat situations kept fire crews busy today in Edmonds and Seattle in incidents that are reportedly not related.

In Edmonds, a report from a city public works employee notified authorities of a white powdery substance at the intersection of Sunset Avenue and Edmonds Street along the waterfront.

"We didn’t know what the substance was, so we called for a Hazmat response," said Leslie Hynes, spokeswoman for Snohomish County Fire District 1, which serves Edmonds.

Crews from Snohomish County Fire District 7 and from Lynnwood were also called in because each department shares hazmat resources. District 7 had the equipment to test the substance, Hynes said.

It was quickly determined that the substance was baking flour, Hynes said.

"It was kind of in lines, almost in the shape of a square," said Hynes. "Some people speculated that it was set up as a baseball diamond. I don’t know about that."

See picture on kirotv.com.

Hynes says there was also a report of a woman running in the area who saw two crows dragging a bag of flour around the intersection. She took the bag away from them, tossed it in a garbage can and continued her run.

At the same time, Snohomish County Fire District 1 was in touch with fire crews in Seattle's University District, where there was also a report of an unknown white substance.

That turned out to be cornstarch, Hynes said.