USPS Is Suspending Services in These Places, Effective Immediately
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Even if you only visit your local post office sporadically, it’s nice to know that the option is there when you need it. But while you expect these facilities to shutter on Sundays and bank holidays, sometimes unexpected circumstances prompt a closure. In fact, the Postal Service announced that multiple post offices have been temporarily shuttered due to safety concerns, meaning your mail could be affected. Read on to find out where the USPS is suspending services, effective immediately.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail .
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On Sunday evening, Tropical Storm Hilary —which hit land as a hurricane on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula—brought record-breaking rainfall to Southern California, CBS News reported. Hilary is the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, causing floods, mudslides, and rockslides through Monday.
The storm eventually moved north, but the USPS confirmed that several local post offices in California were forced to close temporarily “ due to storm related issues .”
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Yesterday, four post offices in California were closed “due to the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary,” including the Forest Falls, Morongo Valley, North Palm Springs, and Shoshone Post Offices.
According to an Aug. 21 press release , retail services and mail service were temporarily relocated for customers who use these post offices, with plans to resume operations “as soon as the U.S. Postal Service determines that it is safe to do so.”
In an email to Best Life this afternoon, Duke Gonzales , APR, strategic communications specialist for the USPS, confirmed that all four post offices had reopened.
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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While four post offices were able to resume operations on Aug. 22, two other California locations were temporarily closed today. According to the USPS Service Alerts, the Darwin Post Office, located at 251 Reddy Street, and the Keeler Post Office, located at 148 Railroad Ave., also shuttered due to the tropical storm.
No additional details were provided regarding the Darwin or Keeler closures. Best Life reached out to the USPS for more information and potential reopening dates, and we will update the story upon hearing back.
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While these temporary closures in California were made in response to an emergency situation, residents in Maryland are getting advance notice of an interruption.
According to an Aug. 18 press release , the USPS will be temporarily suspending services at the Fort Howard Post Office in Fort Howard, Maryland. The post office, located at 9200 Howard Avenue, is closing on Sept. 15 “due to a termination of its current lease,” the USPS said.
Once the office officially closes, retail operations and P.O. Box service will be moved to the Dundalk Post Office, with mail available for pick-up as of Sept. 18.
Best Life reached out to the USPS regarding the Fort Howard closure, and we will update the story with their response.
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/residential/california.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/md/2023/0818-usps-temporary-suspends-operations-at-the-fort-howard-po.htm
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
