A bag containing a mysterious substance found on Bastendorff Beach on Thursday caused an almost four-hour commotion at the U.S. Coast Guard Charleston lifeboat station.

According to a Coast Guard press release, at about 4 p.m., a man brought a bag containing an unknown substance into the station, saying he had found it on the beach.

Coast Guard Station Chief Gerry Flores said the man, who never identified himself and investigators were unable to locate later, came into the station, left the bag on the counter and left.

 Crew members discovered what appeared to be a white, powdery substance and strips of material covered in writing inside the bag.

 A Coos Bay HAZMAT team, Coquille Tribal Police officers, Coos County Sheriff’s deputies, Oregon State Police troopers and Charleston Rural Fire Protection District firefighters responded to the scene. Members of the HAZMAT team and other emergency personnel set up a decontamination area in the parking lot of the station. Five crew members were quarantined until the HAZMAT crew discovered the substance was cloth. The writing on the strips of material was not a real language, the release said.

“It was a controlled situation,” Flores said. “We made sure no one went in or out. We took it very seriously. You can’t help it.”

Flores said the cloth was packed in the bag in such a way so appeared to be powder.

“We were all very happy,” Flores said about discovering the bag’s contents were harmless.

The crew members Brandon Moe, Kent Allen, Shawna Hoosen, Charlie Schmals and Colin Albitz were decontaminated and transported by ambulance to Bay Area Hospital, where they were checked out and released, Flores said.

The station remained in operation throughout the ordeal.

“No matter what it is, we treat it as a serious matter,” Flores said. “But no matter what happens, we are always ready to respond to boaters who need us.”