Ready for Anything : O.C. Y2K Plan: Brace for Everything From Crowds to Baby Boomlet

Law enforcement agencies across the county are gearing up for the New Year by canceling vacation for officers, drawing up contingency plans and gathering lists of celebration spots, according to the Millennium Deployment Plan compiled by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

While officials don’t expect widespread problems, New Year’s Eve is usually a hectic time for police officers. Millennium celebrations--and anxieties--are expected to make this year’s holiday even more taxing.

“New Year’s Eve is the busiest evening of the year,” said Sheriff’s Department Capt. Joe Davis, coordinator of the Millennium Deployment Plan obtained Wednesday by The Times. “There will be more people present [this year], and more accidents.”

Representatives of 25 local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Orange County Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol, have been meeting monthly for a year to coordinate efforts, Davis said.

The resulting plan calls for county officials from different departments to monitor the region from the Emergency Operations Center at Loma Ridge in Silverado Canyon. Those people would arrive at the center early on Dec. 31 to check TV newscasts for any problems reported in other nations or elsewhere the United States.

“We’re opening at 7 a.m. and our emergency manager will get up at 4 a.m. to follow the clock. We’ll be watching CNN like everyone else,” Davis said.

In the event of an emergency, more than 200 sheriff’s deputies can be dispatched anywhere in the county within an hour, he said.

End-of-the-millennium celebrations are expected to draw tens of thousands of people to various locales throughout the county.

At the Anaheim Convention Center, a Baptist youth convention and a dance sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous could draw up to 16,000 people. Meanwhile, as many as 25,000 revelers may be ringing in the New Year at The Block in Orange. At the San Clemente Pier, police anticipate at least 25,000 people for a fireworks show. Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park is preparing for as many as 35,000 guests.

Both Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel are sold out with millennium celebrations that evening, said Sgt. Joe Vargas, a spokesman for Anaheim Police Department. A contingent of officers will be at both venues, and a tactical alert will be in place throughout the city for the evening.

“It’s like planning and staffing for the Olympics,” said Lt. Ray Welch, coordinator for Anaheim police. “We prepare for everything from traffic lights failing to computer problems.”

The biggest fear is that people will react irrationally to loud firecrackers, scattered blackouts and 911 overload, especially if too many callers try to check the system after midnight.

Officials have had to plan for everything from possible gang activity, public panic, and computer shutdown of vital operations, to more intangible possibilities like a millennium baby boomlet.

“Is that real or not? If it is, the hospitals will be busier [and] that means that we’ll be busy,” Davis said.

If law enforcement officers are not busy in Orange County on New Year’s Eve, they may get called to help in Los Angeles where at least seven events--each with an an anticipated crowd of more than 100,000--have been scheduled.

The emergency operations center will stay open through Jan. 3 to monitor problems that may emerge as tens of thousands of employees return to work.

Robert Wilson, director of management services for county facilities, said systems that control elevators, parking lot gates and card-entry systems have been thoroughly checked.

“Knowing what we do about computers and systems, there will always be something that will go wrong,” he added. “But major systems that can cause threats to the health and safety of employees have been examined--and they’re OK.”

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Gearing Up for Y2K

While widespread Year 2000 problems are not expected, Orange County law enforcement is taking no chances. The O.C. Sheriff’s Department Millennium Deployment Plan catalogs countywide New Year’s preparations by police agencies. *

Note: Sheriff’s Department handles policing services for Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton and Villa Park.