PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Co (WTVM) - Volunteers monitoring maps showing Santa Claus' progress from a Colorado Air Force base are only about three hours into their goodwill mission but have already answered more than 7,000 phone calls from people asking about the jolly old elf.
Phones are ringing nonstop at Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of the North American Aerospace Command's annual Santa-tracking operation.
Children of all ages can call 877-Hi-NORAD (877-446-6723) toll-free, or can send an e-mail to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com.
Scores of helpers at NORAD are taking calls and tracking Santa's location on large projection screens.
In another room, the volunteers post updates for more than 1 million Facebook fans and 107,000 Twitter followers.
The maps show Santa is in Australia and heading west. The volunteers will keep updating through 3 a.m. Mountain Time on Christmas morning.
The "NORAD Tracks Santa" Web site, http://www.noradsanta.org, features holiday games and activities that change daily. The site is available in seven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese.
NORAD Tracks Santa started in 1955 because of a typo in a newspaper ad. Kids who thought they were calling Santa wound up talking to NORAD's predecessor. Officers on duty played along and began relaying reports on Santa's progress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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