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Snohomish County buildings reopened after suspicious substance deemed not a threat

Published 4:00 pm Friday, February 6, 2026

By Jenna Millikan

Fire department vehicles park next to the Snohomish County Campus after buildings on the campus were evacuated on Friday. (Jenna Millikan / The Herald)
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Fire department vehicles park next to the Snohomish County Campus after buildings on the campus were evacuated on Friday. (Jenna Millikan / The Herald)
Fire department vehicles park next to the Snohomish County Campus after buildings on the campus were evacuated on Friday. (Jenna Millikan / The Herald)

EVERETT — Law enforcement reopened the area around two buildings on the Snohomish County Campus early Saturday morning, about nine hours after officials discovered a suspicious substance in a ballot box.

Around 3:50 p.m. Friday, Everett Fire Department and bomb technicians were on the scene investigating the substance, sheriff’s office spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe said. The buildings, the east and west administrative buildings, were evacuated out of an abundance of caution, she said. The courthouse building was not evacuated.

Oakes Avenue was closed from Wall Street to Pacific Avenue, Everett police spokesperson Natalie Given said.

Around 1 a.m. Saturday, both buildings were cleared, and law enforcement determined there was no public safety concern, according to a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office social media post.

The substance is not a biotoxin or a chemical threat, the post said.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan

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