Internet restored, on-line registration back on-line!

Fixing up after devastating lightning strike

This article was posted 4 August 2020.

Good news: Internet service at the Sorrento Centre has been partially restored – our on-line booking system is now back on-line, and our beloved Centre is reconnected (sort of) to the internet. Our phone lines remain down for the next day or two as service personnel continue to make repairs.

The culprit was an amazing lightning strike on Friday evening – a direct hit on a tall tree next to our iconic administration building, Spes Bona. The powerful bolt torn down the tree, and blew the bark right off. It then travelled through the ground and fried part of the electrical system on our main campus. The wires and switches that connect the Sorrento Centre to the internet, as well as our phone service, was knocked out in the storm. 

Since it was a Friday evening of a holiday weekend, the first service crew was dispatched on Tuesday morning. They quickly assessed the situation, and started to work. More equipment is on order, but the basics have been done to restore internet service, including our on-line registration system.

We are sorry for the inconvenience – for those who were trying to register for Sister Water on Labour Day weekend, and other events in the late summer and fall, please try again now! 

We hope to have our phone system up and running in the next day or two…

The picture shows the moment right after the lightning strike – when the night sky around Spes Bona shone with the brightness of the sun! Thanks to our assistant cook Jesse Geschke for this amazing pix.