CHIMACUM – Students at several of five Chimacum schools were sent home Wednesday after a threat was sent to about 35 to 40 districts in the state, according to authorities.
The Crescent School District in Joyce also received the threatening email at about 10:57 a.m., but the school was not evacuated, according to Clallam County Sheriff Brian King.
No explosives were found in either district.
All Chimacum students had evacuated and were out and safe shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR).
“Schools are closed due to this threat,” the fire district said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Brett Anglin said an anonymous blanket bomb threat had been emailed to at least 40 schools across the state.
Chimacum in eastern Jefferson County and Crescent in Clallam County appeared to be the only school districts on the North Olympic Peninsula that received the threat.
“Guided tours of each building were conducted and a bomb squad from the Washington State Patrol was dispatched, and law enforcement finally cleared the facility around 1:30 p.m., without find credible evidence of the threat,” Anglin said.
King said the Crescent School District received the threatening email around 10:57 a.m. However, the schools were not evacuated.
The Crescent School District said Superintendent Dave Bingham received the threat in his spam folder and was made aware of the email around 12:15 p.m. by a school superintendent in the hallway of the Interstate 5.
“An email was generated this morning and sent to the superintendents of 35 school districts in Washington state,” the Crescent district said in a statement issued around 2:35 p.m.
“Mr. Bingham was able to contact local law enforcement and read a long email chain from other superintendents and it was determined that the threat was not credible,” the statement said.
“The email list included districts in the alphabet group C through E and it appears Crescent School District was the only Clallam County district in the email chain.”
Chimacum’s parents received an automated message by phone, EJFR said.
Buses were transporting children on their regular routes from outside parking lots, according to EJFR, which asked parents not to go to schools to pick up their children.
“CSD asks that you meet your children on the bus,” the news release said.
“If your children are not on the bus, parents can meet their children at the Chimacum High School Bus Barn.”
The school district serves 733 PK-12 students this year, according to US News & World Report.
The Chimacum School District, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, East Jefferson Fire Rescue and the State Patrol established a unified command that disbanded later in the day.
Spokane’s KREM2 said several schools in eastern and central Washington were placed on lockdown due to emails suggesting bombs had been hidden in the schools. Other news sources said at least 12 schools received threats of gun violence in Illinois on Wednesday.
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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor Brian McLean contributed to this story.
