Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Emergency Procedures Reviewed at Theme Park : Violence: Authorities call an April 17 rampage at Magic Mountain ‘a good eye-opener’ that better coordination is needed.

Violence at Six Flags Magic Mountain in mid-April has prompted city and law enforcement officials to examine emergency procedures, such as ways to quickly evacuate the amusement park.

Authorities also hope to install a telephone hot line to provide recorded information after an emergency and maintain an advisory group to review emergency procedures every six months.

City officials said they were frustrated by the handling of the April 17 disturbances, when hundreds of youths rampaged through the Magic Mountain amusement park, vandalizing nearby businesses and causing a four-mile traffic jam on the adjacent Golden State Freeway.

“We’re looking at Magic Mountain as an example we can learn from,” said Gail Foy, a spokeswoman for the city of Santa Clarita.

Magic Mountain is several hundred yards outside the city limits “and we’re trying to decide at what point you include the city” in emergency response help, Foy said.

Sheriff Sherman Block attributed the violence to poor planning by the park, possible gang activity, the presence of a popular rap group and relief over the verdicts handed down in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial earlier that day.

Magic Mountain officials said at the time that hundreds of patrons, mostly teen-agers, were turned away by early afternoon because the park had reached its capacity. The sale of season passes, in addition to the single-day passes, make it possible for the park to oversell admission tickets, park officials said at the time.

Capt. Jerry Conklin of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station called the violence “a good eye-opener” that better coordination is necessary.

Los Angeles County fire officials agreed, noting the need to have a single staging area where information is gathered and orders are given, rather than having different agencies operating independent of each other.

“We had some confusion about where we should go first,” said Assistant County Fire Chief Gary Nelson.

Representatives from the city, Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station, Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Highway Patrol met last week to review their response procedures.

Two other efforts are also under way in Santa Clarita to improve emergency responses.

Public safety groups, the city and Magic Mountain officials are working on an evacuation plan in the event the amusement park has to be closed early. One major problem from the April disturbances was the large number of unsupervised minors, many of whom were dropped off at the park by family and friends, denied admission and then left for hours without a ride home.

Magic Mountain officials said they have since April started working more closely with law enforcement authorities.

“We do contact the sheriff’s on a daily basis, discuss what special events are taking place, so that they know about them,” said spokeswoman Bonnie Rabjohn.

Meanwhile, the CHP is working on a plan to reroute traffic in case the Antelope Valley or Golden State freeways are closed, Sheriff’s Lt. John Vander Horck said.