Doris Ratliff 
Xmas is underway and festivities are again on keep track of at Shepherd of the Hills soon after an electrical fire remaining most of the homestead home with no electric power last thirty day period.
In the early morning several hours of Friday, Nov. 11, the principal electrical supply for the family amusement park and farm caught hearth. Shepherd of the Hills Common Supervisor Jeff Johnson shared a gentleman was at the property producing a trash pickup when he noticed the fire and identified as 911.
Johnson defined, thanks to the hearth, they misplaced electric power to their outdoor theater location, Aunt Mollie’s Mercantile, Sammy Lane’s Sweet N’ Treats, pieces of The Trails of Lights, The North Pole Journey and extra.
“We experienced to variety of scramble to get turbines obtained and up and running just to be equipped to even open The Path of Lights that evening,” Johnson explained. “You don’t automatically know the effects of electrical fires till you trace it all the way back and things are not coming on, you are hoping to rework all the electricity provides to get energy wherever it needs to go.”
As for the lead to of the fire, other than it staying electrical in character Johnson mentioned they actually don’t know.
“A good deal of the electrical components are aged and have been about for a quite prolonged time. I would not even want to speculate in terms of the how, but it was some form of breaker or transfer swap style issue,” Johnson said. “They are not really certain. They did not just say. At that issue it was all so significantly absent, it was difficult to get our head all around what was accurately going on.”
As the early morning of the fire also coincided with the scheduled opening of The North Pole Journey for the Xmas period at the park, Johnson explained they experienced no option but to postpone the opening to the adhering to weekend.
“We had to do some rerouting of a great deal of the power on issues to even get open the next weekend for that. Because The Trail of Lights is open 7 times a week, we genuinely had to dig in to get that open up very first and dealing with problems throughout,” Johnson said. “This earlier weekend we had so significantly temperature arrive by with the rain and it was just producing problems with people turbines just as we acquired open…So we’re enthusiastic now to be open and finding every little thing back again up and likely. The North Pole Journey has been open up the final couple of weekends without having any flaws, so we’re in a position to functionality on that side.
Though the power’s not forever fastened, Johnson claimed it is temperately fixed more than enough that it can operate all of what the park is presently running.
“It took a good deal of energy, by a large amount of crucial men and women hoping to get anything again open. A great electrician and persons truly jumped in and served us and a good deal of support from White River Electric powered to get everything fired again up, as properly as our personal employees that pulled a good deal of very long hrs trying to get every little thing up,” Johnson reported. “But we’re equipped to operate the complete The North Pole Adventure as advertised and jogging the coaster, as very well as the demonstrates and The Path of Lights.”
When requested about a completion timeline for a long term fix for the electric powered on the property, Johnson explained it’s heading to consider some time ahead of they’re again to 100%.
“To be in a position to get electricity back to the outdoor theater, that’s going to take rather a little bit of time and it’s likely to have to be installing all new electrical elements. Due to the fact almost everything that burned, there wasn’t definitely a building per say of worth, it was all the electrical factors that brought the energy from the White River Electric side onto our assets facet,” Johnson mentioned. “That sadly or the good thing is, however you want to glance at it, is the only element that burned. Now we’ve got to resupply the electrical power to the outdoor theater. We’ve bought to resupply the dressing room, energy in our concession stand as properly as our mercantile, gift store and all that stuff…A large amount of the components and things with some of the source chain shortages things that has absent on, it is difficult to be in a position to get some of the things we want to get all that fastened permanently.”
Johnson stated they wanted to get every little thing up and running as speedy as achievable for people folks who have created Shepherd of the Hills a single of their Christmas stops just about every 12 months.
“When you’re a part of people’s Christmas celebrations and their traditions, and we’re blessed enough they make us a portion of that, you never want to allow them down and you’ve obtained a duty to them, but also to our personnel and stuff to be ready to hold folks performing and get the matters completed we need to have to get performed,” Johnson reported. “We’re grateful coming out of the weekend we had, it could have been a complete ton worse. We’re really grateful that it was not and we have obtained a ton of fantastic persons that aided us and labored by means of all of it. We’re seeking forward to a incredibly excellent Xmas season and hoping to put a wonderful ending to a fantastic 12 months.”
For people who have under no circumstances had the opportunity to arrive working experience their latest Christmas additions at Shepherd, Johnson inspired them to arrive by for a take a look at to check out out The North Pole Adventure.
“Basically Santa’s moved The North Pole to Shepherd of the Hills. So air website traffic manage is Inspiration Tower, Santa’s residing there in the cabin and he’s at the toy shop browsing with all the minor youngsters when they occur by,” Johnson reported. “We’ve bought a snow tubing slide and a quantity of other factors. Individuals can wander all-around and look at all the lights. They can do a hayride via the lights as effectively. We have acquired an prolonged hay journey this yr and then a amount of photo ops for people and they can see all the tiny elves that are all more than the property.”
The North Pole Adventure operates on pick out times now by means of Saturday, Dec. 31. The Path Lights, which has been running at the park for far more than three many years now, will stay open up every day now by way of Sunday, Jan. 1.
This calendar year, the Playhouse Theatre is internet hosting 5 Xmas themed productions which includes: A Shepherd’s Christmas Carol Evening meal Demonstrate, A Christmas Tale Supper Show, The Wonderful American Christmas Chuckwagon Supper Clearly show, WhoDunnit Hoedown-A Xmas Secret, and the Amusing Farm Evening meal Feud.
For further details on Christmas at Shepherd of the Hills, working several hours or to make ticket reservations visit theshepherdofthehills.com.
