SOUTHLAND SECURE IN ITS EMERGENCY PLAN.

Byline: Daily News

If bombs start falling on Baghdad soon, America's post-Sept. 11 security systems in Los Angeles and across the nation will face their stiffest test yet with the likelihood of ``Condition Red'' alerts.

Even without such a state of high alert, the start of a war with Iraq will set in motion security plans from Southern California to Washington, D.C., as the U.S. girds for retaliation by terrorists.

``We will respond as if it is an earthquake and be prepared to meet any demand from the public with the resources we have,'' said Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Across Southern California, officials compare their security efforts with emergency responses to earthquakes to explain what they will do if a specific threat creates a Condition Red alert, possibly leading to restricted travel, constrained trade, canceled events and closed schools and public buildings.

For the most part, officials said operations and life in general will go on normally.

Schools will be open, buses and trains will run regular schedules, business will operate as usual and so will theme parks and other entertainment venues - but in a state of heightened alert.

But beneath the surface, local, state and federal officials are bracing for a worst-case scenario with fears high that domestic terrorist acts could be linked to military action against Saddam Hussein.

``It certainly would be incumbent upon us to take into consideration military involvement as we determined the level protection we needed for homeland security. We'd be foolish if we didn't,'' said Homeland Defense Secretary Tom Ridge.

Questions about just how prepared - particularly how well-equipped police, fire and other emergency forces are - were raised recently by Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton.

He said the federal government's failure to fund purchases of gas masks and other equipment that would be needed to deal with chemical, biological or radiological attacks was ``disgraceful.''

``We're probably the most underequipped major city,'' he said.

Concerns also arise over manpower.

A terrorist attack or a serious threat of one would prompt public agencies to implement security plans drawn up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - nearly all of which depend a massive presence of police officers.

The LAPD, for instance, would face a massive task. Under the city's response plan, officers will work normal shifts and increase patrols at high profile targets in the city and would go on tactical alert with officers working 12-hour shifts and vacations and days off canceled if Condition Red was declared.

The challenge is that more than 500 high-profile sites have been identified.

The watchword is that the level of response depends on the seriousness of the threat to the area.

``So much depends on the situation and the level of threat facing the city,'' said Mayor James Hahn's spokeswoman Julie Wong. ``The mayor is prepared to address the city on what's being done and what steps they should take.''

At LAX, spokeswoman Nancy Castle said passengers can expect more uniformed officers on duty as was the case when the federal government recently declared threats were at an elevated level.

``We took measures that were very apparent to passengers,'' Castles said. ``We had random vehicle searches, a high presence of officers, bomb sniffing dogs and the like.''

Stacy Geere, spokeswoman for Van Nuys Airport, said the highest response level plans are being kept confidential.

``The higher the threat level, the greater the security measures to be taken,'' Geere said. ``We are different from LAX because we have so many private planes. ... We are exceeding the federal mandates.''

Like other agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority expects to keep buses and trains running normally unless there is a specific threat.

Transportation is No. 3 on the nation's list of possible targets, and police on the city's buses and rail system have ratcheted up security since 9-11.

Officials said Metrolink, too, has more aggressively patrolled its tracks, held disaster training exercises on trains and encouraged others to keep an eye on the stations.

``Just like probably back in World War II, when they attacked Pearl Harbor, we don't know where the enemy is, who the enemy is,'' said the MTA's Paul Lennon, chief of security and law enforcement. ``There is going to be a heightened level of paranoia how do you harness that to make it the most impact.''

Schools will go on normally in the event of war and state law requires each school to have a plan on what to do and who to contact in emergencies.

``We have a Safe School Plan at every school,'' said Alan Kerstein of Los Angeles Unified. ``Every administrator, principal, faculty member is aware of it and it covers any and every contingency that could occur at every school.''

Added Willie Crittendon, administrator of LAUSD's school operations and safety division: ``We have ample supplies at schools - water and food to sustain them for a 72-hour period. I think we are prepared for any and all types of emergencies that could occur.''

Officials at California State University, Northridge, recognizing the extent of student protest against the U.S. policy, plan to turn the outbreak of hostilities into a teaching experience.

``There's an incredible teaching opportunity for some of our programs, such as journalism, psychology, political science,'' said Carmen Ramos Chandler, director of news and information at CSUN. ``In our Child and Adolescent Development department, faculty are already giving students suggestions and tools how to help parents deal with their children and issues of war.''

The nation, which was put in Condition Orange (a high threat of terrorist attack) last month, is now at Condition Yellow (an elevated threat of attack). Officials and lawmakers believe a return to Condition Orange is probable at the onset hostilities. A move to Condition Red (severe risk of attack) is not being ruled out.

Under Condition Red, the department's responses would include ``monitoring, redirecting or constraining transportation systems and closing public and government facilities, as well as deploying emergency response teams.

If the nation goes on a war footing, the task of warning thousands of local responders, city officials and school administrators would start with the California Highway Patrol.

``We've got quite an extensive communications tree worked out'' said CHP Commissioner Spike Helmick. ``We are linked to every local law enforcement in the state and can notify them all on our hotlines within five minutes. They in turn will notify local city leaders, fire and emergency personnel and school districts''

Helmick said that getting the word out across Southern California would be no mean feat. The region boasts more than 200 cities, 167 school districts, 76 fire and paramedic departments and 116 police agencies. He noted that it is critical to have one source issuing alerts, given the fact that many local police and fire units still lack the equipment needed to communicate with one another.

If a Condition Red alert is called, the CHP will go on 12-hour shifts, deploy at state buildings, bridges and aqueducts and other critical installations and put all 30 of its patrol planes into the air.

``Since 9-11, we've improved all of our plans, training and coordination,'' added Helmick.

Key decisions would lie with Gov. Gray Davis and the California State Threat Advisory Committee, a panel that includes Helmick and George Vincent, director of the state's Office of Homeland Security; top officials of the state Department of Justice, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the California National Guard and personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Daily News reporters Bill Hillburg, Rick Orlov, Troy Anderson, Mariel Garza, Helen Gao, Lisa Sodders, Pat Aidem and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this story.

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Photo:

(color) Security guards and a bomb-sniffing dog search cars that enter the Warner Bros. Ranch facility in Burbank. Law enforcement agencies have a plan of action in place should the terror alert rise.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer