Pasadena Authorities Beef Up Security In Anticipation Of Rose Parade Visitors

PASADENA (CBSLA) — With tens of thousands of fans expected to flock to Pasadena this weekend for both the Rose Bowl game and parade, authorities are taking no chances when it comes to security measures.

The fire department and local police will work with sheriff's deputies, homeland security and other federal agencies to monitor threats on the ground and elsewhere with more officers than ever, both uniformed and covert.

While crowds can expect to see things like armed officers, bomb-sniffing dogs and security cameras lining the route, they won't see or know everything that law enforcement is doing to keep the event safe.

Unlike years past, police will close Colorado Boulevard at 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve, six hours earlier than normal.

"With everything that's going on in the world around us, that's just an additional safety precaution that we wanted to close it at 10 p.m.," said Pasadena Fire Department Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian.

For visitors, this means the traditional pre-parade parade of custom cars and car clubs cruising the boulevard will be cut short.

It's safe to say that authorities are constantly fine-tuning their strategies, learning from attacks like the Las Vegas shooting.

Visitors say they think about recent attacks and are prepared to say something if they see something.

"Are you going to say, you know what, forget it, we're not going this year?" said Rose Parade visitor Tom Bird. "Are we going to let them dictate whether we're going to go and continue our tradition or not?"