More than 700,000 people are expected to attend the parade January 1.
The extra security includes more rapid response teams stationed along the parade route “to mitigate a known or perceived threat,” said Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez.
The teams include officers from Pasadena, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he said. Sanchez would not give specifics on the number of teams or their size.
The federal government already had designated the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl a top security concern, according to DHS Special Agent Mark Selby. That prompted the installation of temporary cameras along the parade route to provide “a surveillance capability unmatched in the city’s history.”
The San Bernardino attack triggered more resources, Selby said.
“We added extra personnel – dozens and dozens,” he said.
Selby is leading the federal security effort.
While he stressed there is no specific and credible threat to the Rose Parade, a substantial operation is underway in Pasadena.
“On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, federal personnel will be employing a variety of explosive-detection methods, as well as at key venue across the city,” he said. The operation will include bomb-sniffing dogs and devices that register “even minute amounts of radiation.”
As they do often, officials encouraged people to report anything suspicious.
Part of the fun may be lost with the extra security. Sanchez said officers will discourage the longstanding tradition of throwing marshmallows and silly string onto the parade route. It`ll also be a "no-drone zone."
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