Authorities will have radiation-detecting aircraft to guard July Fourth celebrations

Authorities are raising National Mall events to the highest security level.

There will be unprecedented levels of security around the country for the United States' 250th birthday celebrations over the weekend, according to a top FBI official, and the government will have the latest technology at its disposal including being able to take over drones and a radiation-detecting aircraft.

FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia told ABC News' Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas that it's an "all hands on deck" situation.

"We have several of our resources, the vast majority of our resources right now dedicated in one shape or another to protecting our citizens and our visitors who have come here to enjoy themselves," Raia said. "Whether it's at a FIFA match, whether it's at America 250, or whether it's at one of these other great celebrations around the country."

In Washington, D.C., authorities are raising the celebrations on the National Mall and surrounding areas to the highest security level. Officials have said they are not currently tracking any credible threats.

There are nearly 19 miles of anti-scale fencing, 3.5 miles of road closures, 3 miles of the Potomac River are closed and thousands of federal agents and nearly all of the Metropolitan Police Department officers will be working in sweltering temperatures.

For the first time, the annual Fourth of July fireworks display on the National Mall will be designated a "National Special Security Event," with security levels on par with presidential inaugurations. People entering the National Mall grounds will have to pass through TSA-like screening, said Tara McLeese, the Secret Service Special Agent in charge of the Washington field office.

In years past "you could just walk up and put a lawn chair and a blanket out. That will be different this year," she said. "You won't be able to just show up. There will be specific places, designated places to go through security before you can get on the Mall."

In the air, teams from the National Nuclear Security Administration will be scanning for any hazardous material in Washington.

"We are flying missions to make sure that there are no radiological threats. But this is just the part that you see -- we also have a lot of people with radiation detectors and backpacks that are traversing the Mall and maintaining that constant presence," Brandon Williams, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration told ABC News. "The truth is we've been there in the background for decades on all of these kinds of major events."

The FBI is concerned about drones not only for the 250th celebrations, but also for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, according to Raia.

"We have technology now that we're able to take control of those drones and either send them back to their pilot, which is good for us -- now we figure out who the pilot is, we can interview that person, get investigative leads, see if there's something more to it -- or we can send that to a what we call a designated safe zone," he said.

Independence Day celebrations come in the most challenging threat environment since 9/11, with the ongoing terror threat, a rise in political violence and continuing fears about lone-wolf offenders, according to Raia.

"In this job, people ask me all the time, 'What keeps you up at night?' and that lone offender threat that we just talked about, ... that is the one that keeps me up at night and that is the one that we are going to be working feverishly as an agency. We will continue to work every angle,” he said. "Analytics, intelligence, enforcement, everything to make sure that our Americans are protected not only during 250, celebration of FIFA, but every day across the country."

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