Disneyland, National Guard Are Set for Y2K

As Y2K jitters intensified across Orange County on Thursday, 150 California National Guard troops hunkered down in case of terrorism or riots, and Disneyland had backup systems for its backup systems in case the new year darkens the Magic Kingdom.

The personnel at the Armed Forces Reserve Center on Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos are part of a 1,700-person state contingent that began special four-day drills. If Gov. Gray Davis calls up the Guard, military police and other units would be able to mobilize within minutes, officials said.

“If for some reason we are needed for an emergency, we’ll be able to respond quicker,” Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Doug Hart said. “It’s unusual for us to drill on a holiday weekend, but we felt this was a prudent thing to do.”

California’s 21,000 National Guard personnel see more peacetime action than any other in the nation. Half of all emergencies requiring troops to back up civilian authorities during earthquakes, floods or fires occur in California, Hart said.

This weekend, special transportation and communication units will be ready to help with anything from crowd control at millennium celebrations to downed telephone lines or contaminated water supplies. But officials believe disasters are unlikely.

“The civil authorities in California seem to have things well in hand,” Hart said. “And to tell you the truth, there are far more of them than there are of us Guardsmen.”

At Disneyland, where New Year’s Eve often is the busiest day of the year, far more employees than usual are scheduled to keep big crowds moving smoothly and to act quickly if problems should occur.

Should phones malfunction, cell phones are on hand. Should cell phones go out, there are radios. And if the radios go on the fritz, employees will hand-carry messages to workers in the park as evacuation proceeds.

“Each department has designated runners,” said an employee involved in the planning.

Flashlights labeled “Y2K” have been distributed at rides. The Magic Kingdom Conference Room, in an area behind the park’s Main Street, is ready for the Emergency Operations Committee, a high-level panel that typically would be assembled only in case of a disaster like an earthquake.