Cerritos residents found a huge surprise at the US Post Office located at 183rd Street and Carmentia Road on Memorial Day weekend when a massive fumigation tent was erected over the ornate tree-lined structure.
The tent sprung up on Saturday and the facility was expected to be closed until this coming Tuesday. Yet many resident and postal customers were caught off guard about the closure.
Workers were seen on ladders and on the roof top of the popular post office early Saturday morning erecting the tent. Warning signs were placed around the post office telling visitors to avoid contact with the tenting, in both English and Spanish.
“I have a post office box inside and I need to pick up some important checks that were sent to me from business clients on the east coast,” said Dominic Saldana who is a small business owner who lives in nearby La Palma.
Saldana said that no notices were posted on the outside of the Cerritos Post Office to inform customers and community members about the closure. “Look, they didn’t even post a note or a letter outside about the closure.”
Another customer, Tom Andrews drove up on his motorcycle to buy some stamps, and looked puzzled when he saw the green and yellow stripped tent.
“Wait a minute; the Post Office is closed due to an outbreak of bugs. You got to be kidding,” Andrews said as he put his helmet back on and drove off.
Lily Yang, a resident of Cerritos also was caught off guard. “This doesn’t look good. Wonder what happened,” she said.
Looked like the circus had come to town.
They did put a notice up on the doors, but it was only done a few days before the weekend.
pictureperfect
I can see it now…employees refusing to return to work, new on the job injuries from those that did return, FMLA claims up the ying-yang.
WHAT KIND OF CHEMICALS WERE USED? Will they have a lingering effect on the health of the workers who have to breathe in the residual fumes attached to surfaces. I hope this will not make the workers sick like the anthrax fumigation. I wonder what is the time frame for complete airing out or if they will be in such a hurry to reopen that some safety measures will be overlooked. I hope it will be safe for the customers too, who are so eager to get in.