After a Lightning Strike, a Long Wait Ends: Leggett Post Office to Reopen in New Space

Lightning-lit flames engulf the Leggett Post Office on March 1, 2024, after a lightning strike ignited the building during a storm. The fire heavily damaged the community landmark, sending postal services to Garberville for more than two years while repairs and rebuilding took place. Photo/video still by Melissa Bradley.Still from a video by Melissa Bradley

For more than two years, a simple trip to pick up the mail meant a 30 minute drive north to Garberville for many Leggett residents.

That chapter is finally coming to a close.

The U.S. Postal Service announced that the Leggett Post Office will reopen Monday, June 15, restoring full retail and post office box services at its longtime location at 67674 Drive Thru Tree Road.

The new Leggett Post Office. [Photo released by the US Postal Service]

Around 5:44 p.m. that day, firefighters were dispatched to a fire burning inside the Leggett Post Office. According to reports from the scene, the building had been struck by lightning. Firefighters arriving at the post office saw flames coming from the building. The nearby Leggett Store was also threatened.

The fire left the post office with extensive damage and forced the immediate relocation of services. By the following day, the Postal Service announced that Leggett customers would temporarily receive mail services through the Garberville Post Office on Sprowl Creek Road. Residents picking up mail were required to present photo identification, and for many, what was expected to be a short-term inconvenience stretched into months and then years.

In a community as small and remote as Leggett, the post office serves as more than a place to buy stamps or collect packages. It is one of the community’s most recognizable public spaces and a regular stop in daily life.

Now, after more than two years of reconstruction and recovery efforts, customers will return to what postal officials describe as a “brand new updated space.”

The Leggett Post Office will retain its traditional operating hours: Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The post office box lobby will again be accessible 24 hours a day.

Friday, June 12, will be the final day Leggett customers can pick up their mail at the temporary Garberville location. Customers with post office boxes are reminded to bring photo identification when obtaining new box keys at the reopened facility.

“The Postal Service is thrilled to reopen the Leggett Post Office and resume regular operations in our community,” Leggett Postmaster Kristi Rico said in a statement. “We sincerely thank our customers for their patience and continued business. We look forward to welcoming our customers back to the new Leggett Post Office.”

For residents who have spent more than two years making the drive to Garberville for their mail, the reopening represents the return of a familiar piece of community life—one that was nearly lost in a single lightning strike on a stormy evening in 2024.
Earlier:

• Leggett Post Office on Fire Following Reported Lightning Strike
• After Fire at Leggett Post Office, Post Office Will Give Residents Mail in Garberville