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CNN Live Today
Officials Plan to Reduce State of Alert at Golden Gate Bridge Today
Aired August 12, 2002 - 11:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In San Francisco, officials plan to reduce their state of alert at the Golden Gate Bridge today. The bridge has been under a super-heightened state of alert in response to a potential terrorist threat there.
Our Rusty Dornin joins us now live from the landmark span. She's got more details for us this morning.
Hello, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, you know, you really don't see a lot of these heightened security measures that are taken. We've gone back down from superheightened alert to a heightened alert which is what the bridge is in at all times now.
We can show you just one of the patrols down toward the base of the bridge just leaving. There is a bridge district patrol car. He's around the bottom of the bridge, patrolling underneath there, and he's just returned now.
We are right now in the middle the commute hour on the bridge. Traffic is running normally. There's also been some kids out on the bridge that came from a college from down in Southern California. They're watching across the bridge. Doesn't look like people have been overly fearful about this alert that came out. Came out on Friday.
And what it was apparently unsubstantiated and uncorroborated. But it was a threat involving an airline striking the bridge. Now, they went into a heightened -- superheightened alert status.
And here to tell us more about what that means is Mary Currie from the Golden Gate Bridge District.
Mary, what can you do if plane crash into bridge? You can't really do anything from the ground.
MARY CURRIE, GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE SPOKESWOMAN: Well, we rely on our partners at the FAA and FBI and the California Highway Patrol predominantly to protect the airspace. It is the FAA's job to do that. And they coordinate with the FBI and the California Highway Patrol. So there are measures that they can take, and they have been patrolling in the airspace, over the bridge for the last couple of days.
DORNIN: You still have a tremendous number of people involved in guarding this bridge. What? The National Guard?
CURRIE: It's a very long list of agencies, from federal right down to local, National Guard, California Highway patrol. We're working with the governor's office of homeland security. We're working with the FAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Park Police, the U.S Park Police, and our own security staff.
DORNIN: Let's talk a little bit about -- we'll have our photographer John show us here. Even just in the foundations of the bridge, I mean, how do you keep -- you have to keep folks away from there, and are you watching with video cameras?
CURRIE: Exactly. It's a matter of surveillance, fencing, and patrols. So lots of eyes and ears and all locations, on the ground, and all the areas surrounding the bridge.
DORNIN: Did it seem like commuters or visitors were affected? Did you get a fewer number of people this weekend, that sort of thing?
Right now, we do have a National Guard vehicle. Where we saw that vehicle before, there's now a national guard vehicle that's going to be going back there patrolling underneath the bridge. The National Guard used to be very visible on top of the bridge. Now they have sort of become...
CURRIE: They're really working on the ground sides, underneath the span. That's the area we needed assistance, and they've been helping us there.
DORNIN: What I was asking you before, did you notice a difference...
CURRIE: Things are business at usual at the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunday was just a packed day of visitors and traffic and everything. It was a beautiful day, and everybody was going about their business, and we were going about our business, conducting the business of protecting this bridge.
DORNIN: So now we've gone back normal level, which is a heightened alert, which once again still is -- does involve the National Guard, does involve the police, and state trooper patrols guarding the Golden Gate Bridge. But looks like things will go back to normal -- Leon.
HARRIS: Good deal. Thanks, Rusty. Rusty Dornin reporting to us live from the Golden Gate Bridge this morning.
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