All over Loudon County, officials and individuals have begun preparing for an influx of activity Monday when the sun falls behind the path of the moon during a total solar eclipse.
With the county in the path of totality, residents are expecting visitors in droves for a view of what some are calling a once-in-a-lifetime event that begins about 1 p.m., reaches total darkness at 2:33 p.m. for approximately two minutes and is over by 4 p.m.
“Basically we’re tripling our officer presence during the day and the time of the thing to handle calls and traffic,” Cpl. Billy Hall, public information officer for the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, said.
Hall called the event a “different kind of animal,” since it’s nothing LCSO has tackled before and there is no precedent for how many people will attend locally.
A meeting of all law enforcement agencies in the county was held Tuesday to come up with a specific plan for dealing with a potential influx of crowds.
At Sweetwater Valley Farms, which is hosting an event the day of the eclipse, expectations are that 1,500 people will attend.
“We’ve had other events that have been big, but I think this one is definitely going to exceed those,” Mary Lyndal Harrison, marketing director for Sweetwater Valley Farms, said. “This has been absolutely crazy.”
Nervous excitement is the primary emotion for staff at the farm as they prepare for the crowd.
“I guess we’re trying to figure out a parking plan and everything like that,” Harrison said. “That’s pretty much all we’ve been able to do is figure out how to lay out everything at the farm. We’re trying to figure out what highways are going to be congested and try to get some people in early so they’re not all coming in as the event starts.”
The Kiwanis Club of Tellico Village is dealing with a similar response on a smaller scale.
An eclipse viewing party Monday at Toqua Golf Course’s restaurant and pavilion is expected to bring 255 people.
“We sold out in a matter of less than two weeks. It was quick,” Angie Antico, event coordinator, said. “... We were a little bit (surprised). I mean we knew it would be something big because it’s a one-time shot for us, but I’m surprised it was that quick. We could have sold a lot more tickets.”
The club rented the restaurant and pavilion to handle the number of people in attendance and has sent out notices to attendees urging them to carpool in order to help traffic flow.
“It’s unique and we wanted to just get the Kiwanis message out there,” Antico said. “We are community-oriented and we wanted to do something nice for the community. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity.”
As a result of the expected increase in traffic, both Lenoir City and Loudon County schools announced a closure last week, having received permission from the state to use days built in for inclement weather.
“As we began hearing more activities that were being planned in the community and looking at the number of people that would be here, that’s when we really started thinking is this the right thing to do,” Jeanne Barker, Lenoir City Schools superintendent, said. “There are pros and cons on both sides of the issue. We love the fact that it’s such a wonderful opportunity for teaching. At the same time, we know we have many families that want to go and participate as a family.”
Because dismissal for many students would occur during the eclipse, Barker also considered the possible safety of student drivers.
“We thought we had a good plan on that, but then you add to it all the people that are going to be on the roads,” Barker said. “We didn’t really know that. So about the last week we’ve been looking at what’s best.”
