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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2017)
SOLAR ECLIPSE 8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 Total solar eclipse first in 99 years to sweep width of US By MARCIA DUNN Associated Press AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus Joe Krenowicz, executive director of the Madras-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, gestures toward Mount Jef- ferson as the sun rises over Madras. The first place to experience total darkness as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth will be in Oregon, and Madras, in the central part of the state, is expected to be a prime viewing location. Up to 1 million people are expected in Oregon for the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years and up to 100,000 could show up in Madras and surrounding Jefferson County. Officials are worried about the ability of the rural area to host so many visitors and are concerned about the danger of wildfire from so many people camping on public lands. Eclipse: ‘You’ve got to be prepared or you won’t enjoy it’ Continued from Page 1A Chasers descend Up to 1 million eclipse chasers will descend on Ore- gon for the celestial event, and officials are bracing for as many as 100,000 of them in and around Madras. In this vast expanse of ranches and farms, rural, two- lane roads could mean traf- fic jams of cosmic propor- tions. Every hotel in Madras is booked, some residents are renting their homes for $3,000 a night, and campers are expected to flood the national forests and grasslands during peak wildfire season. The state’s emergency coordination center will gear up, and first responders will prepare to respond to any trouble as they would for an earthquake or other natural disaster. Cell towers could be overwhelmed, traffic will be gridlocked, and police and fire stretched to the max man- aging the crowds. “Bring extra water, bring food. You need to be pre- pared to be able to survive on your own for 24 to 48 to 72 hours, just like you would in any sort of emergency,” said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s really worth seeing. But you’ve got to be prepared or you won’t enjoy it.” What’s a total solar eclipse? AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus Christina Carpenter and her 11-year-old son, Evan, hold some of their chickens on the family’s organic farm earlier this month, as Carpenter’s husband, Grant Putnam, looks on. Carpenter is renting out camping spaces on the family’s farm for nearly $1,000 and up during the four days leading up to the eclipse and will provide lives music, guest lectures, star-gazing and meals. Path of totality When the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, the path of totality — meaning total darkness — from the moon’s shadow will begin on Oregon’s Coast, then cross the north-central part of the state from west to east. But as the hype builds, authorities are increasingly worried that people who planned to watch from the notoriously foggy coast could move east at the last minute if the forecast sours. And Ore- gonians who live outside the path of totality could decide to drive to one of the prime viewing spots at the spur of the moment, creating havoc on the roads, said Cory Gro- gan, spokesman for the Ore- gon Office of Emergency Management. In addition, many tourists will be camping in hot, tin- der-dry conditions, or even sleeping in their cars. First responders have been plan- ning for months for a worst- case scenario: evacuating tens of thousands of peo- ple while trying to get fire engines through gridlocked roads. Cellular towers also may be crippled by the vol- ume of people texting, call- ing and posting photos, mak- ing it difficult for fire crews to communicate. Federal and local officials will stage engines and other resources at key locations, and firefighters from other agencies and private compa- nies will send extra crews. But it’s impossible to plan for everything, and tourists frus- trated with traffic may use forest access roads as short- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — This August, the U.S. will experience its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years. Total solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. What makes this one so special — at least for Americans — is that it will cut diagonally across the entire United States. The path of totality on Aug. 21 — where day briefly becomes night — will pass over Oregon, continuing through the heartland all the way to Charleston, South Carolina. Those on the outskirts — all the way into Canada, Central America and even the upper part of South America — will be treated to a partial eclipse. The last time a total solar eclipse swept the whole width of the U.S. was in 1918. No tickets are required for this Monday matinee, just special eclipse glasses so you don’t ruin your eyes. Here are some eclipse tidbits as you get ready to feast your protected eyes on perhaps the greatest of all cosmic spectacles. AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus A poster advertising the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse hangs in the window of a McDonald’s restaurant in Madras. AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus A rough draft of a special shortened menu for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse is seen resting on a table at the Black Bear Diner in Madras. cuts, further raising fire risk, said Kent Koeller, a recre- ation planner with U.S. Forest Service outside Madras. “Just driving off-road — having that contact with a hot muffler or a catalytic con- verter — could start an igni- tion,” he said. “And in these fine fuels, it could spread very quickly.” Planning ahead Lysa Vattimo was hired two years ago to coordi- nate the town’s planning efforts with more than 50 local, state and federal agen- cies. She spends her days try- ing to think of every possible consequence of having tens of thousands of people in a town of just 6,500 — and her nights worrying she missed something. The town and surrounding campsites have rented nearly 700 portable toilets, includ- ing some from as far as Idaho, to meet demand. Sanitation trucks will run almost around the clock, transporting trash to 50-yard-long (46-meter- long) dumpsters before it rots in triple-digit temperatures. Gas stations are filling their underground tanks in advance, and businesses are being told to use cash only, to avoid bringing down the wireless network. Banks are stocking their ATMs, local hospitals have canceled vaca- tions, and pregnant women close to their due dates are being told to leave to avoid getting stuck. “What we’ve asked our residents to do is get prepared ahead of time. About a week out, fuel up on propane, gas, whatever fuels they need, get their prescriptions, go to the doctor, do what you need to do,” she said. “And then stay home.” In Madras, hotels were booked years ago, and spots at 25 campgrounds in and around the town are going fast. Farmers are renting out their land for pop-up camp- grounds, and thousands of parking spaces for day trip- pers are getting snapped up. The Black Bear Diner, one of the town’s most popular restaurants, expects to serve 1,000 people a day during the week leading up to the eclipse. Owner Joe Davis has ordered five weeks of food for one week of business and will have an abbreviated menu of 10 items to speed service. “The Black Bear Diner has been here in Madras 18 years, and I’m sure this will be by far the busiest week — and probably double the busi- est week — that we’ve seen,” he said. But amid all the hubbub and anxiety, most residents have kept sight of the wonder. Darlene Hoffman is one of the few here who watched the last total solar eclipse to touch Madras 38 years ago. Hoffman, 80, recalls how the birds stopped singing and the horses prepared to sleep as the sky gradually darkened and a hush fell over the land. “It was really something to see. It really was,” she said. “That amazed me more than anything.” When the moon passes between Earth and the sun, and scores a bull’s eye by completely blotting out the sunlight, that’s a total solar eclipse. The moon casts a shadow on our planet. Dead center is where sky gazers get the full treatment. In this case, the total eclipse will last up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds in places. A par- tial eclipse will be visible along the periphery. Clouds could always spoil the view, though, so be ready to split for somewhere with clear skies, if necessary. What’s the path on Aug. 21? The path of totality — meaning total darkness — will begin near Lincoln City, Oregon, as the lunar shadow makes its way into the U.S. This path will be 60 miles to 70 miles wide; the closer to the center, the longer the totality. Total- ity will cross from Ore- gon into Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennes- see, Georgia, North Caro- lina and, finally, South Car- olina. (It will also pass over tiny slivers of Montana and Iowa.) The eclipse will last longest near Carbondale, AP Photo/Alex Sanz A sign showcasing a up- coming solar eclipse in Hopkinsville, Ky. There is heightened anticipation in the eclipses path, in- cluding in the small, rural towns of southwestern Kentucky. Illinois: approximately two minutes and 40 seconds. The biggest cities in the path include Nashville; Colum- bia and Charleston, South Carolina; Salem, Oregon; Casper, Wyoming; and just barely within, Kansas City, Missouri. Last total solar eclipses in U.S.? Hawaii experienced a total solar eclipse in 1991. But the U.S. mainland hasn’t seen a total solar eclipse since 1979, when it swooped across Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota, then into Can- ada. Before that, in 1970, a total solar eclipse skirted the Atlantic coastline from Flor- ida to Virginia. Totality — or total darkness — exceeded three minutes in 1970, lon- ger than the one coming up. The country’s last total solar eclipse stretching from coast to coast, on June 8, 1918, came in over Oregon and Washington, and made a beeline for Florida. When’s the next one? If you miss the Aug. 21 eclipse — or get bitten by the eclipse bug — you’ll have to wait seven years to see another one in the con- tinental U.S. The very next total solar eclipse will be in 2019, but you’ll have to be below the equator for a glimpse. We’re talking the South Pacific, and Chile and Argentina. It’s pretty much the same in 2020. For the U.S., the next total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. The line of total- ity will cross from Texas, up through the Midwest, almost directly over Indianapo- lis, Cleveland and Buffalo, New York, up over New England and out over Maine and New Brunswick, Can- ada. Carbondale, Illinois, will be in the crosshairs once again. Alaska Air offers charter flight for solar eclipse event Associated Press PORTLAND — Alaska Airlines said Monday it will charter a flight over the Pacific Ocean this Aug. 21 so select passengers can view the astronomical event from the sky. The flight will take off at 7:30 a.m. Pacific from Portland and is by invi- tation-only for about 50 astronomers and serious eclipse chasers. The airline is also holding an online contest starting July 21 for the general public with a prize of two seats on the flight. The total solar eclipse is the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse to hit the conti- nental U.S. in 99 years. A total eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun’s light. The path of totality — the area of complete darkness where the moon’s shadow completely obscures the sun — begins in the U.S. on the Oregon coast before travel- ing east across the U.S. The idea behind the flight began last year, when a group of avid eclipse chasers booked tickets on an Anchorage-to-Hono- lulu flight during an eclipse that could be seen over the Pacific Ocean. They suc- cessfully lobbied Alaska Airlines to adjust the flight path so they could see the event from the air, said Halley Knigge, an airline spokeswoman. The carrier is now reach- ing out to those same peo- ple for this flight, as well as other astronomers, she said. The trip in the Boeing 737 will take between four and five hours and is limited to about 50 people to make sure everyone gets a good view, Knigge said.