With help of Santa-cams, NORAD tracking sleigh on radar

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Dec 24, 2003 | by BRENT PATTERSON

From the time he leaves the North Pole, Santa Claus will be on trackers' screen at the North American Aerospace Defense Command inside Cheyenne Mountain.

NORAD's annual Santa watch will begin today at 7 a.m. and follow his trek until 1 a.m. Thursday. Children can track Santa's progress on the Internet as he heads toward their home at www.noradsanta.org. For those without Internet access, NORAD has a Santa tracking hotline: 1-719-474-2111 locally or toll free at 1-877-HI-NORAD.

As befits a global event, NORAD has enlisted the aid of 24 Santa- cams around the world, including former Beatle Ringo Starr in England.

NORAD has been tracking Santa's Christmas Eve journey since 1955, when a 6-year-old accidentally called the base and the senior officer on duty took the call, saying he could see Santa on the radar screens heading south from the North Pole.

A tradition was born, and in 1997 it made its debut on the Internet. Last year, the Web site received a record 294.5 million hits and more than 27,000 people called the hotline.