Knott’s Cuts Power to 5 Rides

Knott’s Berry Farm was a bit of a ghost town Thursday, and chilly weather was not the only reason visitors stayed away. Several major rides considered heavy energy users were shut down to save electricity, officials said.

Knott’s closed its Bigfoot Rapids and Perilous Plunge rides Wednesday to comply with state and energy utility requests to conserve power, said Susan Tierney, director of public relations for the Buena Park attraction. Later Wednesday, the Hammerhead and Sky Cabin rides also were shut down, she said. Those four plus the Grand Slammer were closed all day Thursday.

Other Southern California theme parks were also taking precautions and monitoring the situation Thursday. Disneyland was a notable exception because it gets its electricity from Anaheim’s city-owned utility.

But the threat of a blackout was particularly worrisome at SeaWorld in San Diego, where electricity runs the water filters and refrigeration systems for many of the animal exhibits.

At Knott’s, signs were posted at the park’s entrance to let visitors know before they paid the admission fee that the five attractions were not operating, Tierney said.

Late in the day, a group of nearly 150 high school students on summer break from Australia had the park nearly to themselves. Counselors said the students were a bit disappointed by the ride closures but were enjoying themselves anyway.

Many said they looked forward to the water attractions--Bigfoot Rapids, Perilous Plunge and Hammerhead, which park management picked for closure because they draw fewer riders when temperatures dip.

Sara Jones, 14, and Courtney Drever, 13, of Sydney said the cold doesn’t bother them. In fact, they were looking forward to a soaking.

“We wanted to ride the others because we wanted to get saturated,” Sara said.

Courtney said she too was “sort of” upset, but “it’s OK, because we are going to Disneyland tomorrow.”

Disney’s electricity comes from Anaheim Public Utilities, a 106-year-old nonprofit agency that is not facing the same pressures as the big investor-owned utilities such as Southern California Edison, which supplies power to Knott’s.

SeaWorld is more vulnerable, however.

“We are obviously concerned and watching very closely,” park spokesman Bob Tucker said. “We do have a co-generator that runs on natural gas. In the event of a rolling blackout for a short period of time, we would be OK. If it is more than eight hours, we would be in a more difficult situation.”

San Diego Gas & Electricity, which supplies energy to the park, has been spared any shortages so far. However, SeaWorld officials have taken precautions similar to those during last year’s Y2K preparation, Tucker said.

The park houses six killer whales, several dozen dolphins and 350 penguins whose exhibit must be kept at 25 degrees Fahrenheit, Tucker said. The water in the park’s fish tanks must also be filtered constantly.

At Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, lighting in nonessential areas was turned off after hours and reduced by 50% during business hours to conserve energy, a studio spokeswoman said. However, park rides have been operating at full capacity.

In case of a blackout, backup generators would ensure that all rides stop safely, the spokeswoman said. She could not say what further effect a protracted energy shortage might have on the park’s operation.

Officials at the Queen Mary in Long Beach also were taking a wait-and-see approach. The historic ship that was turned into a 365-room hotel and exhibit hall has been operating full steam ahead. But workers were asked to make sure lights in offices are turned off at day’s end to conserve energy, spokeswoman Lovetta Kramer said.

“At this point we haven’t had any difficulties,” Kramer said.

One venue taking precautions was Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress. The track’s quarter horse racing program today will be in the afternoon, starting with the first post at 12:35 p.m.

The move from the 7:15 p.m. start time was authorized by the California Horse Racing Board, officials said. The track will also be permitted to race Saturday and Sunday afternoons if necessary.

The racing situation will be reviewed next week to determine any long-term solution that might be required, racing board officials said.

*

Times staff writer Eric Hamilton contributed to this report.