Like other agencies and installations throughout Washington state, Peninsula Coast Guard units and the State Patrol moved quickly to increase security over the weekend after the White House raised the national terror alert to code Orange.

The alert was boosted a notch to its second-highest level on Friday after Attorney General John Ashcroft cited an “increased likelihood” that the al-Qaida terror network would attack Americans at home or abroad to coincide with Muslim holy days.

The alert prompted both Coast Guard Group Port Angeles — which commands units from Port Townsend to LaPush — and the State Patrol to tighten security.

“We are taking appropriate measures, including increased patrol operations by cutters and aircraft out of Port Angeles and small boat operations, said Lt. Scott Casad, Coast Guard spokesman in Seattle.

“We’ve definitely increased our patrols . . . and we patrol everywhere.”

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The rest of the story appears in Monday’s Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered or mailed to your home or office.