Junction prepares for upcoming solar eclipses

The City of Junction and other parts of Kimble County will be in the path of solar eclipses during 2023 and 2024. On October 14 of this year, there will be a partial eclipse, and a total eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the frequency with which a total solar eclipse will be visible from any given location is about once every 375 years. The total eclipse is expected to result in a great influx of visitors here.

In a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and stops some or all of the Sun’s light from reaching Earth. Early indications of significant interest in the eclipses include a group arriving under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that will be present at the Texas Tech Center in Junction to launch helium filled balloons for the collection of data during the total eclipse. Reservations have already been made for lodging and inquiries have also been made to lease space for large entertainment venues. And, the Smithsonian Institution, as one example, is already offering “a journey from Austin to the Texas Hill Country” for viewing of the total eclipse in 2024.

If experiences of other communities are any guide, it is possible that tens of thousands of visitors could be coming to our area for the total eclipse, with fewer, but still a significant number, for the partial eclipse. Local planning efforts are now underway on how to welcome and efficiently deal with so many visitors.

In 2021, members of the Board of the Junction Texas Economic Development Corporation (JTEDC) began gathering information on the serious impacts that past total eclipses created for communities in the United States. The Board members shared this information with city and coun- ty officials and stressed the need for early planning to meet the serious challenges that will be faced by both public officials (e.g., law enforcement and other first responders) and businesses (e.g., motels, RV parks, restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations).

The County-City Emergency Management Coordinator, Randy Millican, is working with various local, state, and federal organizations to identify essential requirements and to line up the resources that will be needed to respond to the needs of thousands of visitors. A task force has been established for this purpose. At its first meeting in January 2023, representatives from the following attended: Kimble County, including County Judge Hal Rose; Texas Department of Emergency Management; Department of Public Safety; Sheriff’s Department; Junction Police Department; Emergency Medical Service (Ambulance Service); Kimble Hospital; Kimble Airport; South Llano River State Park; JTEDC; and Chamber of Commerce. Subsequent meetings of the Task Force have included additional members (e.g., a TxDOT representative).

Topics discussed by the Task Force included requirements related to law enforcement (crime and traffic and crowd control); firefighting and rescue operations; ambulance and hospital services; demands on the electric grid and city water resources; fuel supplies; adequate capacity for government and non-government communications; and sanitation (trash, disposal in septic tanks, porta potties).

Measures to be taken in preparation for the eclipses by the private sector also require consideration. In this regard, the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Arrazola, is meeting with local businesses. The Chamber is also developing an eclipse website that will be focused on keeping the community informed and up to date. https://www.junctiontxeclipse.com

In summary, the experiences of other communities throughout the United States with past eclipses have shown that the effects on communities can be substantial. Accordingly, local planning is underway in anticipation of the events. Unknowns remain, however, about the actual impacts of the eclipses – time will tell.

The National Safety Council and the American Academy of Ophthalmology advise that the only safe way to look directly at the sun is through special-purpose solar filters. These special filters are used in eclipse glasses and hand-held solar viewers. Children and young adults are most at risk for eye damage as bright light and radiation from the sun can cause heating and cook the exposed eye tissue.

The paths of the eclipses through Texas can be seen at https:// www.greatamericaneclipse.com/eclipse-maps-and-globe/texas.

Texas cities in the path of the total eclipse in 2024 and the duration of the eclipse in the cities can be viewed at https://eclipse2024. org/eclipse_cities/total/tx.