Friday, October 19 at approximately 12:53 p.m. a bomb threat was called into the Pacific County Communications Center (PacCom). The caller stated that a bomb was set to go off at 1:00 p.m. at the Pacific County Courthouse. The caller also stated that two additional explosive devices would be detonated every 45 minutes.
According to Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson the caller was believed to of used a 'Spook' phone with an untraceable phone number. "We take these things very seriously," Johnson said. "I feel we were very prepared for it and things went smoothly. We have already met and talked about things we could have done better."
Johnson went on to explain that it happened to be a day where not a lot of deputies were readily available. But they made the best out of who was available and cleared the buildings. No explosive devices were discovered. Some offices in the buildings chose to not return to work for the day. PacCom moved operations for a short time to the Pacific County Sheriff's Office Mobile Command Unit. "Our dispatchers were able to take calls on a few cell phones we have," Johnson said. "It's another example of how important having that unit available is."
Other sources however have painted a different picture with the mobile command unit being unprepared and staff unsure what to do. One source who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that dispatchers were left with little tools to do their jobs and were unprepared for such an incident, with some not even aware of where the mobile command unit was located.
Around the same timeframe another incident occurred in Thurston County at the capital where another bomb threat was made. Washington State Patrol units including their bomb squad had to clear several buildings. A suspicious package was located but was determined not to be an explosive device.
It's unclear at this time if the two incidents were at all related, but did happen at nearly identical times. The Raymond Police Department and South Bend Police Department assisted the Sheriffs Office with building evacuations and clearing.