Military to keep close eye on Santa's progress.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

Though hundreds of holiday travelers are still sorting through the mess caused by this week's snowstorms and airport closures, Santa and his eight reindeer will have a trouble-free journey on Christmas Eve.

That's because the Oregon Air National Guard will work once again with the U.S. Air Force and the North American Air Defense Command to track Santa's jaunt across the United States and Canada to deliver gifts to all the good girls and boys.

Using a four-phase tracking system, hundreds of NORAD volunteers at the Santa Tracking Operations Center follow Santa's movements through the sky and relay his position to curious children.

Detecting Santa starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System, which has 47 high-power installations along the northern border of North America. Using this system, trackers can tell when Santa first lifts off from his home in the North Pole.

Once he's in the air, NORAD follows his progress with the same satellites that warn of possible missile launches aimed at North America.

The satellites are positioned about 22,300 miles above the Earth and use infrared sensors to detect heat from missiles and rockets - and from Rudolph's glowing red nose.

Since 1998, the agency has used a special network of Santa Cams to keep an eye on the Jolly Old Elf as he makes his way around the continent. The high-tech, high-speed cameras are used only on Christmas Eve to capture images of Santa, Rudolph and the rest of the gang.

Finally, as Santa approaches Canada, NORAD fighter pilots in CF-18 jets take off from Newfoundland in Canada to intercept and welcome Santa to the continent. They escort Mr. Claus through that country to the United States, where American pilots in F-15 and F-16 fighter jets take over.

In Oregon, Air Guard flying units based in Portland and Klamath Falls will help Santa on his way once he enters the state.

"Every Christmas Eve, we begin receiving reports from the Western Air Defense Sector at McChord Air Force Base (in Washington) concerning erratic blips on their radar screen," Oregon Air Guard spokesman Mike Allegre said. "Because our F-15 air crews are on continuous alert, they may be ordered airborne to investigate anything that we can't readily identify on radar."

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command, have tracked Santa's magical holiday trek across the sky, to ensure that nothing interferes with the Red One's joyful gift-giving mission.

TRACKING SANTA Children can follow Santa's journey across North America on Christmas Eve by logging on to www.noradsanta.org. There, children can listen to radio traffic and see images of St. Nick via a special "Santa Cam." Children can also call NORAD at 1-877-HI-NORAD or e-mail NorthPole@OfficialSantaMail .com throughout the evening for updates

from Santa-tracking volunteers.