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The countdown is officially on.
With under 20 days until Arkansas’s 2024 Solar Eclipse, Mountain Home businesses and officials are at work to prepare for the influx of visitors to Baxter County and the state.
Next month’s eclipse will mark the United States’s third solar eclipse in the 21st century, with no other eclipse occurring in the U.S. again until 2044. Mountain Home and Baxter County will be under total darkness next April for over three minutes due to being in the path of full totality.
Mountain Home will be under total darkness for 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Norfork will see the most time under darkness with an impressive 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
The eclipse path will be between 116 to 118 miles wide. The entire event will last around 15 minutes as the eclipse travels across the state.
State officials expect over 2 million eclipse viewers to descend on Arkansas, as the state has some of the least amount of light pollution along the eclipse path, allowing tourists and residents to experience total darkness in rural areas of the state.
Baxter County officials are expecting the county’s population to surge anywhere between 150,000 to 250,000 people in the weekend leading up to the eclipse. Several eclipse tracking websites, including GreatAmericanEclipse.com, estimate some 84,000 to 337,0000 visitors will drive to the path of the eclipse on April 8.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation estimates some 1.5 million additional road users, including 500,000 Arkansans in other parts of the state, to drive to the location of the eclipse on the big day.
Local officials and business leaders in the community are split over how the surge of potential people will affect local cities within the county, with some expecting local businesses and services to be strained, while others insist the surge will have roughly the same impact as the surge of vacationers that descend on the Twin Lakes every summer.
In October of last year, Baxter Health held a Tabletop Drill with local governments and community leaders to prepare for 2024’s eclipse. That drill saw attendees run through a series of questions to help focus on what challenges first responders and leadership expected to face over the entire eclipse.
According to Mayor Adams, the City of Mountain Home is ahead of the curb on maintaining public safety for the event, due to several years of planning.
On February 15 of this year, federal, state, local, and private agencies participated in a tabletop exercise for the 2024 Great Northern American Solar Eclipse.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) organized the event to discuss scenarios and test the response capabilities in preparation for the April 8 Solar Eclipse. The primary focus of the exercise was to examine the objectives and core capabilities required to handle the influx of visitors in the western, central, and northeastern parts of Arkansas, including the counties directly and indirectly affected by the eclipse. Nearly two-thirds of the state is inside the path of totality for the eclipse.
The aim was to encourage participants to review, share, and update their response plans during and after the exercise.
Several scenarios, such as severe weather, transportation and traffic management issues, and potential fuel shortages, may impact Arkansans during the solar eclipse. Additionally, there may be emergency events that could arise before, during, and after the eclipse. The exercise included communication, public information, and services related to public health and emergency medical services.
ADEM has been holding operational calls for the last year in preparation for the event. On Saturday, April 6, ADEM will activate its Emergency Operational Center.
Due to an expected influx of guests in the region, the Arkansas State Police (ASP) will play a crucial role in ensuring public safety surrounding the event by working closely with other law enforcement agencies to combat potential safety risks, manage hazards, monitor traffic flow, and enforce road safety regulations.
ASP officials are advising eclipse goers to prepare ahead of time and be patient, as travel on the main interstates may be congested.
Those planning to visit Arkansas for the eclipse are encouraged to explore the state’s beauty, history, and culture by checking out events and happenings at Arkansas State Parks.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) said they will provide additional message boards throughout the state to keep motorists updated on any traffic situations affecting their travel plans. A dedicated website has been established for the latest information on the upcoming eclipse along with IDrive Arkansas.
The National Weather Service also recommends that travelers have multiple ways to receive weather warnings, as the large number of visitors in the state may disrupt cellular service.
What’s offered in Mountain Home?
Mountain Home offers eclipse viewers one of the best spots in the state to view April’s event. Not only does the city offer over three minutes of viewing time, but it also offers quality amenities in the forms of hotels, resorts, restaurants and pubs, fun activities and shopping.
Some stand-out amenities include Rapp’s Barren Brewery, the city’s downtown entertainment district, various parks, Mountain Mystery Escapes, Crush Wine Bar and more.
Mountain Home is also located next to Norfork Lake’s sandy beaches, offering visitors a chance to experience “the beach” while viewing the eclipse.
In the weekend leading up to the event, ASUMH will open its doors to music lovers by hosting a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert on April 6. And that’s not all, over the same weekend, Mountain Home’s Baker District will be hosting a block party for the Final Four college basketball tournament that is set to run from April 6-8.
On the big day, the Baxter County Airport will be hosting a Fly-In event for pilots who are looking for a place to watch the eclipse. ASUMH will also be opening its campus to local residents and visitors during the eclipse, offering those in town some much-needed space to stretch out.
For those local residents who need a pair of eclipse glasses for the big day in April, the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce has you covered. The Chamber is currently selling glasses for $1.50 for the public and $1 flat for Chamber members. They are also selling commemorative t-shirts for the big event.
The Chamber’s glasses were branded and packaged with help from Dr. Rob Connor. All t-shirts were produced locally. Glasses are also available at Walmart in the event that the Chamber sells out.
Residents and guests should check their glasses for scratches and damage before viewing the eclipse on April 8. Each pair of glasses is rated for around five minutes of use when looking at the sun.
