It’s not often that a local news station actually becomes the news.

A hate letter packaged with a suspicious brown powder forced KTNV-TV, Channel 13, to evacuate Tuesday and broadcast its evening newscasts from another station.

A receptionist opened the letter about 10 a.m., prompting calls to Las Vegas police and the hazardous materials team from the Clark County Fire Department, police officer Jose Montoya said.

Channel 13′s building on Valley View Boulevard near Desert Inn Road was evacuated while hazmat crews sealed off the structure and collected the powder.

The building remained empty late Tuesday while the powder was sent to Reno for testing.