Southland Agencies Step Up Security

As homeland security officials warned against severe threats of terrorism this holiday season, police departments, airports, power stations and tourism centers across Southern California beefed up security in a drill that many say has become second nature.

As part of that, officials called on the public to watch for suspicious activities and set up a tip hotline: (877) A-THREAT. They also placed thousands of police and security officers on extra duty.

“I’m not a very popular person with a lot of the families right now,” said Noel Cunningham, chief of the Port of Los Angeles, who canceled all days off for his officers and ordered 12-hour shifts. “That means these officers will be working on Christmas Day.”

In Los Angeles, city officials ordered increased security at about 650 sites deemed to be potential terrorist targets, including Los Angeles International Airport. At Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, as well, security was enhanced following a Sunday night meeting between airport and security officials.

“We are definitely doing things differently,” said airport spokesman Justin McCusker, who declined to discuss the details. Nonetheless, he said, the average passenger “is not likely to notice much of anything [that’s changed].”

Indeed, most passengers seemed to be taking it all in stride.

“I notice things a bit more,” said Jim Graziadei, a sales manager who travels frequently on business but was heading home to Northern California for the holidays. Because of the security alert, he said, “I’m a little more cautious, a little more aware.”

Jackie Frazier, a Mission Viejo resident en route to Washington state, said that she wouldn’t dream of changing her plans. “We need to go about our daily lives,” she said. “We can’t stop living because somebody’s threatening -- if we do, they win.”

The increased security follows an announcement Sunday by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge that intelligence experts had received reports of a planned terrorist attack against the United States that was “equal to or greater than those that occurred on 9/11.”

In response, Ridge said, he was raising the nation’s terror threat level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high -- the second-highest position on the color-coded alert system.

In many cases, police and security officials were reluctant to detail their tactics, but precautions across Southern California included the following:

* Anaheim police said they were increasing uniformed and plainclothes patrols at Disneyland.

* San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente was a “hard and hardened facility” following the activation of security features and testing of communication channels, said Ray Golden, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, which operates the plant.

* The city of Beverly Hills restricted access to its Civic Center by closing Rexford Drive between Santa Monica Boulevard and Little Santa Monica Boulevard.

* At Van Nuys Airport, the nation’s largest general aviation airfield, officials closed the public observation area at Woodley Avenue and Waterman Drive and increased security patrols.

* At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the U.S. Coast Guard oversaw stepped-up efforts to protect cruise and container ships against potential terrorist attacks.

Ridge’s announcement Sunday marked the fourth time in 2003 that the nation was placed on orange alert, and officials at the ports said they were increasingly accustomed to the heightened security.

Agencies charged with protecting the seaport complex -- the largest in the nation -- typically work together closely, and Monday was no exception. Officials reactivated a special joint operations center at Terminal Island to assure smooth coordination among federal, state and local agencies.

Cruise ship traffic was heavier than usual, as passengers left on holiday trips. Travelers encountered more stringent security measures, with police patrolling ship terminals and Coast Guard sea marshals riding ships as they left port.

Divers searched for explosives on the hulls of docked cruise ships, and Coast Guard vessels crisscrossed the harbor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents increased inspections of incoming passengers, baggage and cargo, scrutinizing passports and cargo manifests. More cargo is being inspected with large-scale X-ray equipment and radiation detector devices.

The Coast Guard stepped up its random checks of boats in the harbor area -- from fishing vessels to container ships -- to “keep the terrorists guessing,” said Chief Warrant Officer Lance Jones.

In Pasadena, the increased security alert prompted several new precautions for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl, said Mitch Dorger, Rose Bowl chief executive.

About 1,000 officers, dozens of them undercover, will mingle in the crowds at the parade and football game. Access to some areas previously open to the public will be restricted.

Before Sept. 11, 2001, Pasadena did not enforce its overnight parking ban on New Year’s Eve. That changed after the terrorist attacks.

Times staff writers Mai Tran, David Haldane, Stephanie Stassel and Monte Morin contributed to this report.