2018 Incident
The 2018 Richland Reindeer Incident, humorously dubbed "The Night Rudolph Dropped the Ball," was an unexpected Christmas Eve calamity. Santa's lead reindeer, Rudolph, experienced a nose malfunction amidst dense fog, resulting in a spectacular sleigh crash into the Richland HOA clubhouse. The mishap led to widespread chaos, including scattered presents, shattered sleigh parts, and an unfortunate spread of reindeer droppings across the premises.
Incident Overview[edit | edit source]
At approximately 2:03 a.m. on December 25, 2018, during what was supposed to be a routine Christmas Eve delivery, disaster struck. With visibility near zero, Rudolph's iconic red nose—famously tasked with "guiding the sleigh tonight"—flickered and went out, leaving Santa and his team disoriented. The sleigh veered off course and crashed into the Richland HOA clubhouse, virtually destroying the roof and spreading sleigh parts across the lawn and into the pool. . Witnesses later described the scene as a "Yuletide disaster zone."
Emergency Response[edit | edit source]
The HOA Board received an emergency call shortly after the crash, rousing its members from a deep seasonal slumber. HOA President activated the "Holiday Incident Response Tree," summoning both mortal and supernatural residents to assist.
Notable contributions included:
- The Vampire Brigade: Utilizing their superior night vision, Richland's vampire residents quickly located rogue presents scattered throughout the neighborhood, reuniting them with their rightful recipients.
- Casperine McAllister, Spectral Reporter: Casperine, armed with her trusty ghostly quill, documented the event in haunting detail, describing the "crash's ethereal glow and the distinct odor of singed peppermint."
- Local Werewolves: Though initially distracted by the scent of the reindeer, they were corralled into helping with the sleigh repair.
Cleanup and Aftermath[edit | edit source]
The cleanup effort lasted until dawn, with elves dispatched to retrieve the remains of the sleigh. However, rumors persist that one or two presents went unaccounted for and may still be hidden among the clubhouse's lending library. Santa later issued a formal apology to the Richland HOA and strongly encouraged the neighborhood to invest in LED Fog-Proof lighting for the clubhouse. Rudolph underwent a mandatory "nose recalibration" and was temporarily replaced by Blitzen during the following year's holiday deliveries.
Legacy[edit | edit source]
The 2018 Richland Reindeer Incident remains a popular topic of conversation at HOA meetings and is used as justification for the annual Holiday Lighting expense in the annual budget.
External Links[edit | edit source]
- Casperine McAllister's Full Report: "Twas the Night of the Crash: An Ethereal Account of Christmas Chaos"
- Santa's Official Apology Letter
The clubhouse itself was reinforced to handle future "holiday air traffic," ensuring that such an incident will (hopefully) never happen again.