More than a dozen workers at a Montana animal shelter were hospitalized last week after inhaling methamphetamine that officials burned in an on-site incinerator. As of Sept. 15, the shelter animals remained displaced to temporary housing for what could be several weeks.

In a press release shared with USA TODAY, the Billings Police Department said that a "partner agency" was burning methamphetamine in an incinerator on Sept. 10.

During the blaze, "negative pressure" pushed smoke into the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, which is in the same building as the machine, according to the press release.

As a result, the shelter began to fill with smoke and was evacuated. However, 14 employees reported feeling sick after the incident and were treated at a local hospital for inhaling the narcot

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