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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2017)
145TH YEAR, NO. 37 ONE DOLLAR DailyAstorian.com // Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian A view of the eclipse from Seaside. ‘GEEKING OUT’ Eclipse provided spectacular views, few hassles “It’s like a busy weekend,” ODOT spokesman Lou Torres said . “We didn’t encounter anything we couldn’t handle.” The Department of Transportation’s maintenance crews and communications teams will take the next few days to discuss what worked and didn’t work in preparation for future large events. “This was a great experience,” Torres said. “We’ve never had anything like this in terms of a mass traffi c event.” Though some agencies increased patrols and even sent some offi cers south to aid other departments near the path of totality, law enforcement offi cials did not report any unusual traffi c or criminal activity. “I think this is a reaction to over-advertising,” Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn said. By JACK HEFFERNAN, KATIE FRANKOWICZ and BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian P orsche Brunzell, sporting a NASA shirt and sweat- pants featuring drawings of galaxies, sat at the base of the Astoria Column facing the sun. An admitted space nerd, she had been counting down to the moment for weeks. She fi gured the Column, just up the road from her home , was as good a spot as any to see the celestial event. “I’m geeking out a bit, trying to calm down,” she said about an hour before the solar eclipse as early morning clouds began to fade . “The universe has to give me this.” For Brunzell and millions of people across the United States on Monday, the universe did just that. But the total solar eclipse did not bring the potential downsides many had feared. There was little traffi c gridlock and no unruly crowds — a relief on the North Coast. ‘Eerily quiet’ Sunny skies Estimates had roughly 1 million people coming to Ore- gon over the weekend and Monday, temporarily — and quickly — increasing the state’s population by nearly 25 percent. Offi cials from around the state were expecting massive traffi c delays, including in some areas outside the path of totality like the North Coast. But compared to ini- tial worries, it was sunny skies for the state Department of Transportation. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian People begin to make their way to the Astoria Col- umn on Monday morning hours before the solar eclipse. Fog that was present early in the morning drifted away, providing a clear view of the event. Local wildland fi refi ghters were prepared for a number of emergency scenarios that, by the time the eclipse actu- ally arrived, had yet to happen. Instead, they saw the last thing they had expected: Nothing. In fact, said Neal Bond, Astoria protection unit forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the eclipse week- end was quieter than is typical for the summer. There was even a “vacancy” sign out for Fort Stevens State Park before the eclipse, he said, “which is fairly unheard of in August.” See ECLIPSE, Page 4A Eclipse watchers marvel at totality in John Day Crowds gather at Capitol to view eclipse A pristine view of the cosmic dance Moment more subdued that many expected By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau JOHN DAY — Anticipation turned to cheers Monday morning in John Day as vis- itors from around the world celebrated the arrival of the total solar eclipse. For about two minutes, the moon came in perfect alignment with the sun, casting an otherworldly darkness that left specta- tors in awe. The skies remained mostly clear throughout the morning, offering a pris- tine view of the cosmic dance. Then, just as quickly as it came, it was over and light returned. Located deep within the path of totality, John Day played host to thousands of eclipse SALEM — For about two minutes Mon- day morning, Oregon’s capital went dark during the fi rst total solar eclipse to hit the continental U.S. since 1979. State emergency managers and tourism offi cials had been prepping for the big event for about a year, though things seemed more subdued in Salem than some had feared. The event did draw visitors to Salem — the fi rst of fi ve state capitals in the path of totality — from all over the nation and the world. The crowd front of the state capitol build- ing sported refl ective eclipse glasses, tele- scopes and camera equipment. E.J. Harris/EO Media Group Gabriel Porter, of Sandy, right, reacts to the start of the eclipse while watching it with his twin brother, Nathan, on Monday in John Day. See JOHN DAY, Page 4A MORE INSIDE AND ONLINE See photos readers submitted of the total solar eclipse on Page 11A and online at DailyAstorian.com See CAPITOL, Page 4A In Astoria, an inventory of trees Report tracks trees found in city parks By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Two years ago, the Astoria Parks and Recreation Depart- ment contemplated destroying a giant: an iconic 150-year-old moss-covered bigleaf maple in Alderbrook’s Violet LaPlante Park with an infected and rot- ting dual trunk. Through thinning and other measures, the department was able to save the tree for now, but Parks and Recreation Board member Jessica Schleif said then that she hoped the city would one day catalog important and historic trees, old trees that are “really spe- cial to us in this community.” A new tree inventory comes close to accomplishing this goal. On Monday, the Asto- ria City Council accepted a report by ArborPro that looked at 1,860 tree sites across the city’s parks, recording the size, species and condition of individual trees. It pro- vides a sort of roadmap for the parks department, said Jonah Dart-McLean , parks mainte- nance supervisor. “It’s a great starting point, actually,” he told city councilors. He was pleasantly surprised to fi nd that over the sprawl- ing city park system, “we’re fortunate to have some pretty healthy trees.” The city allocated $30,000 for the inventory. C ompleted in June, the report highlights immediate and future main- tenance needs, said Parks See TREES, Page 4A Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A comprehensive inventory of Astoria’s parkland trees completed this summer will help guide future mainte- nance decisions .