Centre County fire companies cancel Santa Runs due to extreme cold, wind chills

With extreme cold weather coming to the region, Centre County fire companies announced Thursday evening that Santa Runs have been canceled.

The Philipsburg Fire Department was set to host its annual Santa Run on Friday, while the Bellefonte Fire Department and Alpha Fire Company planned to escort Santa through their respective areas on Christmas Eve.

A wind chill advisory has been issued in Centre County from 10 a.m. Friday through 7 p.m. Saturday, with the National Weather Service predicting “dangerously cold wind chills” of 15 to 25 degrees below zero.

“The Santa run is the highlight of the year for us and we love bringing Santa through the neighborhoods of the communities we serve but this weather puts undue risk on our crews and to the gatherings of family and friends waiting alongside our routes to see Santa,” Alpha Fire Company posted on Facebook.

In a Facebook post announcing the cancellation, Philipsburg’s Reliance Fire Company wrote that the extreme cold could be dangerous to the fire trucks, and with wind gusts forecast near 50 mph, firefighters may need to respond to emergency calls that could have disrupted the run.

Bellefonte Fire Company urged people to stay home and stay warm on Saturday.

“We look forward to escorting our jolly friend next Christmas in 2023!” the fire company wrote in a Facebook post.

Santa has made other recent trips in Centre County. With an assist from the Millheim Fire Company, he visited the Penns Valley area and later stopped by the Millheim fire hall for breakfast. The Port Matilda and Boalsburg fire companies took Santa on a tour of their communities. Santa also made time to visit the Walker Township Fire Company for breakfast and pictures and took a trip through Snow Shoe with the Snow Shoe Volunteer Fire Company.

WEST ROUTE

This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 1:47 PM.