Squirrels likely culprits for half-lit community tree in Cadillac

CADILLAC — Those who attended the annual Christmas in the Park event Friday might have noticed something missing when Santa and Mrs. Claus flipped the switch to light up the community Christmas tree and holiday lights.

When Santa and Mrs. Claus flipped the switch, the holiday lights that line Cadillac Commons and the Lake Cadillac shoreline turned on, but the community tree placed in the Common only had half of its lights turned on. While that is something any holiday exterior illumination specialist has experienced, the folks at the Cadillac Department of Public Works and Engineering were left scrambling like Clark W. Griswold.

Cadillac DPW Operations Manager Ken Payne said after checking the strings of lights on the tree, a determination was made.

It wasn’t a loose bulb, a blown fuse or some other defect. Instead, Payne said it appeared something, likely one of the many squirrels that call the Cadillac City Park home, chewed on some wires.

“We believe some squirrels got after it. I don’t think it was vandals. There were some broken wires,” he said.

While city crews worked to fix the issues, Payne said there was about an eighth of the tree that remained unlit about 12 feet up. He also said there were a few of the light displays in the park that also were not lit. The plan is to have them illuminated by Tuesday as the recent snows caused the attention of city crews to be diverted to plowing parking lots and city streets.

Every year on Black Friday, the City of Cadillac hosts the annual event where the city’s holiday displays around the City Park and its Christmas Tree are illuminated for the first time. It also means Santa and Mrs. Claus make their annual visit.

Starlight Aerial Productions, a Great Lakes Drone Company, also donated a Christmas drone light show to the city of Cadillac as a part of the Christmas in the Park celebration. It was dedicated to the memory of Judith Ann (Judy) Hill, a cherished member of the Cadillac community known for her boundless love and Christmas spirit.

Payne said it was estimated that a few thousand people flooded the area of the Cadillac City Park and Cadillac Commons on Friday. An exact amount was not known, however, Payne said it is believed that 2,000 to 3,000 may have attended the annual event.