White House: West Wing Evacuated After Smoke Detected

The West Wing of the White House was evacuated briefly early Saturday morning after smoke was detected at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

According to ABC News, the Secret Service said someone reported seeing smoke coming from a mechanical closet in the West Wing of the White House at approximately 7 a.m.

“Early this morning, an electrical transformer near the West Wing malfunctioned and set off a smoke alarm in the West Wing,” a White House official told ABC. “Electricity and personnel access to the West Wing has returned to normal. The First Family was unaffected.”

It was later determined by the city's fire department that an “odor that smelled like smoke” was what was actually reported, ABC said.

The evacuees were permitted to return to the building after it was established that there was no safety risk.

It's unclear whether President Obama was in the White House at the time of the incident.