ANTHRAX HOAX CLEARS TWO AREA MARKETS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Two supermarkets were evacuated and closed for several hours Saturday after a man called 911 and said he was going to release potentially deadly anthrax into their ventilation systems.

Authorities on Monday said the man called from three pay phones threatening to release the bacterium but deputies found no evidence and called the threats a hoax.

``It's somebody who's been watching the news about this playing some games,'' said Deputy Dave Miklos of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. ``(They're) serious games, unfortunately.''

The man first called at 2:40 p.m. from a pay phone outside the Wal-Mart at 320 W. Ave. P.

``He just said that he was going to release it in Palmdale,'' Miklos said.

The man placed another call at about 4:55 p.m. from a phone outside the Ralphs market at 1803 E. Palmdale Blvd., and a third at 5:20 p.m., outside an Albertson's supermarket. The caller claimed he had released the bacterium into the stores' ventilation systems.

After evacuating shoppers and employees, Sheriff's Department and fire officials determined that the threat was unfounded.

``They searched the location for any suspicious canisters or packages,'' Miklos said. ``They didn't find anything.''

The threats follow a spate of similar calls in the San Fernando Valley that prompted the closure of Van Nuys court buildings and several businesses.