SAN ANTONIO HEIGHTS >> If you’re looking for a star to the north, you’re going to have to wait until closer to Christmas.

This Thanksgiving, many noticed the star which shines above the unincorporated community overlooking the inland valley was missing.

Ken Petschow, who has continued the 49-year Christmas ritual of lighting the 75-foot-high star is behind schedule.

Petschow — who typically lights the star from Thanksgiving to Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day — said the delay is due to damage the star sustained last holiday season as well as the heights’ ongoing legal battler over a fire tax.

“I will get it up before Christmas,” Petschow said Monday afternoon, but couldn’t commit to an exact date.

A star has been a holiday staple in the community since 1968.

George Hostetler built the house as well as the star, which at the time was only 35 feet high by 35 feet wide.

Petschow inherited the tradition when he purchased the property in 1996.

“It’s my gesture, out of the goodness of my heart,” he said.

But this year, Petschow is facing some unusual circumstances, and he blames the government agencies involved to disband Upland’s more than 100 year-old fire department and annex to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

The move impacted him after LAFCO, which oversees annexations in San Bernardino County, decided to amend the plan to include the unincorporated community of San Antonio Heights. Property owners in San Antonio Heights — along with Upland landowners — would have to pay an annual $150 parcel tax, which may increase 3 percent annually, without taking it to a general election vote.

“The legal fight with (San Bernardino) County, Upland and the Local Formation Commission used up all of my time I would have spent on it,” Petschow said.

Petschow said he typically needs three to four weeks to prepare the star but a wind storm last Christmas means it needs more repairs than in previous years. He’s already spent $600 on new steel for the structure.

On top of that, he detected a leak in the hydraulic crane which means he’ll need to fix it first to be able to erect the star.

In the past, Petschow said he would have relied on donations the San Antonio Heights Association raises during an annual steak fry benefit, but this year those funds were directed to the legal battle on the taxation issue.

Petschow estimates by the time the star is up and lit, he’ll have spent $1,000. That also includes the electricity.

But many residents in the region have posted the Facebook page “San Antonio Heights Star” offering to set up fundraising pages or donations to help.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct when the star was built.