LOCAL FIRMS FEAR Y2K; COMPUTER OPERATORS SCHEDULED TO WORK THROUGH NEW YEAR'S EVE.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Staff Writer

While millions of champagne-drinking Southern Californians celebrate the end of the millennium, corporate techies and business owners will party like it is the last night of 1999.

That means working.

With fear of the Y2K bug unabated, businesses - from computer companies to travel agencies and newspapers - aren't taking any chances the Y2K bug will strike.

In the San Fernando Valley, companies keeping staff at work through New Year's Eve include Warner Bros., Disney, Sanwa Bank, Countrywide Home Loans, Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Inc. Rocketdyne Division, company officials said.

It means Frank Robles can't go to Las Vegas to usher in the new year as he had hoped.

``I would much rather not be at work, but I kind of have to be here,'' said Robles, a computer operator for 20th Century Insurance in Woodland Hills who will work on New Year's Eve. ``It's definitely not fun, but it's very important for the company.''

It isn't all bad news.

Thousands of computer technicians will cash in on overtime and holiday pay on the slim chance of computer meltdown.

Robles will be one of 10 technicians working that night and through the weekend.

``Their job will be to shut down the entire system before midnight and watch what happens around the world and in L.A. We want to see what else happens before we bring our system back up,'' said Rick Hill, a 20th Century spokesman.

The three-person team at Help Me Rhonda Travel Agency in Granada Hills isn't going on vacation, to a night club or even a party.

``We have to be on call in case any of our clients gets stranded and needs to get home,'' said owner Rhonda Maroney. ``Maybe I'll have a block party instead.''

No one is keeping tabs on exactly how many companies will be using extra staff on New Year's Eve, but hundreds of companies nationwide - including banks, insurance companies and mega-retailers - will have huge teams on hand for potential computer meltdowns, officials said.

``It's widely believed now that Y2K isn't going to cause any significant problems,'' said Steven W. Lew, chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. ``But I know there are people who don't want to take chances with their businesses, so they are taking precautions.''

Time Warner Cable's Chatsworth facility, which services the West Valley, will be on alert to make sure both television and their new RoadRunner Internet service continues to run.

Vice President and General Manager David Auger said they haven't got a final count on how many engineers will have to work New Year's Eve, but it will be a substantially larger staff than the five engineers who normally work nights.

At least 50 local executives and managers also will be required to stay in town, he said.

``That includes me,'' Auger said. ``Normally, I would be going out of town or to a celebration, but I won't be able to do anything like that. It's a bummer but we want to be safe.''

Sanwa Bank will have about 350 computer technicians working throughout the weekend, compared to the average 125, said Sanwa's Y2K project manager Wayne Socha.

``We've also gone through extensive training that will allow us to perform business on pencil and paper if the computers fail,'' Socha said. ``We don't expect any problems, but if there are we will still be able to cash checks, take deposits and perform all bank functions.''

Northrop spokesman Jim Taft said the extra staff they will have on hand will be monitoring the critical areas connected to aircraft construction and robotics. As part of their normal business cycle, there will be no manufacturing of either the B-2 bombers or F-18 fighter planes during the New Year's holiday.

``We've had Y2K teams working at the plant for two years and of course we don't expect problems,'' Taft said. ``But if there are, we have to have people here to institute our contingency plans.''

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Photo: Front to back, Joe Mesina, senior computer operator; Don Seymore, senior operations consultant; and Frank Robles, an operator in the computer operations department, monitor the network system at 20th Century Insurance in Woodland Hills.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer