Southland Agencies Step Up Security

In Beverly Hills, they barricaded a corner of the famed Golden Triangle. At the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, frogmen searched the hulls of ships for explosives. In Pasadena, police and Rose Parade officials recruited an army of motor-home owners to watch for anything suspicious.

As homeland security officials warned of 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. Among those is Los Angeles International Airport, where increased baggage screening and random searches of vehicles already were creating delays.

In most cases, travelers took the alert and the delays in stride.

“I think people now have it down pat,” said Tom Ferguson, who flew into LAX with his family Monday. “Take your shoes off and go through the line.”

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.

* 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. More than 100 businesses based at the airport were sent notices to be “extra vigilant” and to notify authorities of anything suspicious.

* At Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, officials ordered more checks of travelers’ identification and employees’ badges.

* 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 ensure 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.

At Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards, where a number of TV cameras tape the parade, bleachers will be roped off from 4 a.m. to noon to anyone not holding tickets.

On New Year’s Eve, unoccupied RVs along the parade route will be towed, Dorger said. But on Jan. 1, citizen volunteers for the Pasadena Police Department will ask RV owners on the route to act as extra eyes and ears. Police plan to give the owners commemorative decals for their efforts.

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 Stephanie Stassel and Monte Morin contributed to this report.