A small Texas town with capacity for just 2,000 people is preparing for a mass influx of tourists ahead of a rare solar eclipse known as the “Ring of Fire.”
Forecasts suggest up to 10,000 tourists will flock to the Bandera County town of Vanderpool over the weekend.
Residents fear the colossal numbers will “exhaust resources” and many are expected to prepare for an event similar to a natural disaster, KSAT reported.
Community leaders across Bandera County are warning residents to stock up on gas and groceries in advance.
Vanderpool only has one gas station and one county store. There are no restaurants or public toilets, a concern as thousands are expected to flock to the city.
Forecasts suggest up to 10,000 tourists will flock to the Bandera County town of Vanderpool over the weekend
The town only has one gas station and one district store. There are neither restaurants nor public toilets
Lost Maples Country Store manager Ron Brown has been stocking his shelves for more than two months in preparation for the weekend.
“We brought in more. “Hopefully they empty the store,” he said. “We’ll probably run out of gas and diesel.”
The store is the only fuel and grocery option for residents of Vanderpool, a small town with a capacity of about 2,000 residents.
“We’re going to go as far as we can,” Brown said.
Community leaders are anticipating slow cell service and gridlocked traffic, saying city streets are too narrow for cars to park on the “non-existent” shoulders.
“We don’t know exactly what we’re seeing,” said Jody Rutherford, Bandera County Commissioner for District 4. “We’ve had every type of forecast there is.”
“We’re concerned about people getting on and off on side streets and blocking the road where we can’t allow emergency traffic.”
“We worry about emergencies and being able to take care of the people here,” Rutherford said. “We’re all about safety.”
Beds, breakfasts, caravan sites and cabins are booked until Sunday evening
Community leaders expect slow cell service and gridlocked traffic, said Bandera County Commissioner for District 4 Jody Rutherford (pictured).
Beds, breakfasts, caravan parks and cabins are booked until Sunday evening, although the busiest time for the eclipse is expected to be from 10am to 2pm on Saturday.
County officials recommend visitors fill their gas tanks before arriving in town and pack enough food for the night.
They also urged those passing through to be wary of trespassing and trash left behind after viewing the eclipse.
Bandera County has released a solar eclipse guide for next weekend, recommending residents do errands in advance, have cash on hand and get eye protection to view the eclipse.
World leaders have been preparing for the eclipse for two years and are viewing this weekend as a test run for the total solar eclipse in April 2024.
A Utopia Volunteer EMS ambulance was stored at the Vanderpool Volunteer Fire Department, Fire Chief Alfred Buckner said.
“The crosshairs are right on the road, about five miles,” Buckner said.
The “Ring of Fire” will be the first time an annular solar eclipse will be visible in North America in 11 years
Millions of people will witness a celestial miracle on Saturday when the moon stands between the Earth and the sun, creating a “ring of fire” in the sky.
This will be the first time in 11 years that an annular solar eclipse will be visible in North America.
The cosmic event will take place on October 14, starting at 12:13 p.m. ET in Oregon and ending three hours later in Texas.
Experts warn viewers not to look directly at the sun without eye protection, such as solar eclipse glasses.
The solar eclipse will also change weather conditions, including temperature, wind speed and humidity, as the moon passes by the sun and casts a shadow on the Earth’s surface.
The more sunlight is blocked, the more dramatic weather changes occur.
Approximately eight US states will be in the path of the Ring of Fire: Oregon, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.
Experts warn that looking directly at the bright sun without special eye protection for observing the sun is unsafe and risks eye injuries
This year’s annular solar eclipse will travel a 125-mile path from Oregon to Brazil
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon travels between the Earth and the sun, blocking the view of some or all of the sun’s surface along a narrow path along the Earth’s path.
The one that will take place on October 14th is an annular solar eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, at a time when the Moon is at or near its furthest point from our planet .
Unlike a total solar eclipse, it does not completely obscure the face of the sun.
Because the Moon is farther from Earth than usual during an annular solar eclipse, the Moon does not completely obscure the Sun, but instead looks like a dark disk overlying the Sun’s larger, bright area in the sky.
This will make the eclipse momentarily look like a ring of fire surrounding the dark disk of the moon.