CLAY COUNTY – There’s a storm coming on Saturday, Dec. 13, and it has nothing to do with the weather. The conditions are expected to be so critical that county officials will activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). 

What could be so threatening? 

“We are aware of 22 different community events going on Saturday,” said Sheriff Michelle Cook. “It's a lot.” 

Indeed. 

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office will be stretched throughout the county, starting with the 5K Reindeer Trot at 8 a.m. – 10 hours before the Kiwanis Keystone Heights Christmas Parade – and ending with the final float at any one of the four Christmas parades in Keystone, Middleburg, Oakleaf or on the water at Swimming Pen Creek. 

And in between, the action doesn’t slow down. 

The agency will be stretched so thin that the sheriff's office has called the challenge "Operation Reindeer Games."

“We're encouraging people to check out the event’s Facebook pages to confirm start times and to send the organizers messages about when to start gathering your stuff, things like that,” Cook said. “We don't have control of some of these events. They might change their times, so we don't want to put out a wrong time.” 

One of the most difficult challenges for CCSO is the Oakleaf Christmas Parade, which traverses Oakleaf Plantation Parkway and Plantation Oaks Boulevard. 

The roadways in the neighborhoods are narrow and gated, which restricts parking. 

“That area will be completely shut down for a couple of hours,” Cook said. 

To handle the congestion, Cook said they will monitor the entire county from the EOC. They can use real-time information and respond to any emergency. 

“We will stand up what's called an Incident Management Team, and it's an oversight layer of people that have vision and have real-time visibility on each of the events,” the sheriff said. “We will be at the Emergency Operations Center, like a hurricane, where it's all hands on deck. As the events unfold, if we start to see an issue, we can adjust our resources in real time.” 

Here are some of the planned events for Saturday: 

• J.P. Hall Children’s Charities Christmas Party from 9 a.m. to noon at the Clay County Fairgrounds. Open to all Clay County children through age 14, the drive-thru event is free. Each child will receive an age-appropriate bag of toys and will be able to select a re-purposed bicycle. Anyone in line by noon will be served, and organizers request that no one arrive more than 2 hours early. 

• Oakleaf Christmas Parade at 6:30 p.m. Starts at Phase 2 Amenities Center at 845 Oakleaf Plantation Pkwy. and ends at Oakleaf High. 

• Middleburg Christmas Festival and Parade. The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Clay County Outdoor Adventure Park, 3829 Sgt. Bradley Crose Road, followed by the Christmas Parade from 6:30-7:30 p.m. along County Road 215. 

• Kiwanis Christmas Parade and Market, 5K Reindeer Trot and Parade of Trees will be from 8 a.m. until the parade starts at 6 p.m.  

• The Whitey’s Fish Camp Lighted Boat Christmas Parade will start at 6:30 p.m. along Swimming Pen Creek from Doctors Lake to the County Road 220 bridge. 

• Penney Farms Christmas Parade will be at 9:30 a.m. along Clark Avenue, followed by a luncheon at the playground park. 

• Wreaths Across America will be at four cemeteries – at Magnolia Cemetery, 1040 Kingsley Ave.; Keystone Heights Cemetery, 7304 State Road 100; Hardage-Giddens-Holly Hill Memorial Park, 3601 Old Jennings Road; and Jacksonville Memory Gardens, 111 Blanding Blvd. – starting at 11:45 a.m. 

• Hometown Holiday in the Park will be celebrated from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Clarke House, 1039 Kingsley Ave.

• Journey to Nativity will be from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the River Christian Church, 5900 U.S. Highway 17.

• “10 Ways to Survive the Holidays” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at the Orange Park Community Theatre, 2900 Moody Ave. 

• “The First Christmas Story Ever Told” will be performed at 7 p.m. at the Spotlight Center, 1809 East-West Pkwy.

• "Nutcracker: In a Nutshell" will be performed at noon and 4:30 p.m. at the Thrasher-Horne Center, 283 College Dr. 

“We have to be prepared,” Cook said. “There are so many events going on, it will be spread very thin.”