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CNN Live Today

Golden Gate to Come Off Alert; Interview with Mary Currie

Aired August 12, 2002 - 10:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour on CNN, a bridge often shrouded in fog today blanketed by a super-heightened security alert. State and federal law enforcement agencies have stepped up their patrols in and around the Golden Gate Bridge because of potential, potential terrorist threat.
CNN's Rusty Dornin is following this developing story for us this morning. Let's check in with her, get the very latest -- hello, Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, as you said, the bridge is shrouded in fog this morning as our commute gets underway.

Now, the bridge district did receive an alert on Friday that there was some kind of caution going on, and they went into something called "super-heightened alert." Now, that lasted through the weekend. Apparently, they were very concerned about what was going to be happening on Sunday, that was the big thing, and that today they were going to be stepping down and going into what they just call there heightened alert status.

But here to tell us a little bit more about all that and what it means is Mary Currie with the Golden Gate Bridge District -- Mary, what exactly is the super-heightened alert. I don't see that many patrols on the bridge, I am not noticing anything that different.

MARY CURRIE, GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE DISTRICT: Super-heighten alert really is when we increase our patrols with the California Highway Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Guard, our own security staff. We bring more resources in, and they may be resources that the public doesn't see, regarding locations underneath the roadway, so they may not see them.

DORNIN: Now, from what I understand, I know that you are not talking about this now, but that the president of the bridge district did call one of the local newspapers and say that it was -- the fear was that the alert was issued because of the fear that a plane would crash into the bridge.

CURRIE: Information did come to us on Friday, and the information did have that specific information, and the president of our board was asked by the media to confirm that, and he did confirm that information.

Generally, we don't confirm the specifics of the information, and in this case it was confirmed, and so I have been at the bridge since Friday, reassuring the public that we are doing everything we need to do.

DORNIN: What can you do about an airplane crashing into the Golden Gate Bridge, really, though?

CURRIE: Well, we can coordinate very closely with our colleagues at the FAA who are in charge of controlling and keeping the airspace safe over the Golden Gate Bridge by identifying all the aircraft, and we have been in close communication with them, the FBI, CHP, everybody has their resources.

DORNIN: Right. And you said there were anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen alerts since September 11, and you have got a lot of different ways to patrol this bridge, right? National Guard, that sort of thing. I know right here, we can show you this real quick, one of the bike patrols on the bridge is getting ready to go out and patrol all the areas, patrol the pedestrian walkways, where people ride their bicycles. Anyway, super-heightened alert. Apparently, they are going to be stepping down from that today -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Thank you, Rusty. Rusty Dornin reporting to us there from the site of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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