Nick Breedlove has been brushing up on his astronomy lately — studying maps and learning the science behind the total solar eclipse that is set to occur on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
The subject has become his latest passion since he found out Jackson County will be one of the best places in the entire nation to witness the rare celestial event when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth.
According to maps from NASA, Jackson and Macon counties are in the direct path of totality, which means certain areas in the Western North Carolina region will be in complete darkness during the eclipse. Breedlove already has Jackson County broken down to a science.
“In Sylva, we will have 1 minute, 45 seconds of complete totality; Cullowhee: 1 minute, 55 seconds; Cashiers 2 minutes, 23 seconds,” he said. “The partial eclipse will begin at 1:06 p.m. in Sylva and the total eclipse will take place at 2:35 p.m.”
As the director of tourism development for the county, Breedlove knows these details will be essential in making sure Jackson County is prepared for the masses of people expected to descend upon the area. Not only will the eclipse be an exciting experience for many residents, but it could be a huge economic boon for the tourism industry.
“The event has the potential to draw crowds from all over the Southeast to our corner of North Carolina,” Breedlove said. “It’s hard to estimate the number of people that will come for the event, but between residents and tourists from outside of the county traveling to see it, there’s potential for a massive influx of individuals who will travel to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Early planning
Breedlove first heard about the eclipse in February from tourism colleague and Western Carolina University hospitality professor Steve Morse. It’s been a major topic of conversation at every tourism conference they’ve attended this year.
Franklin resident David Hubbs brought the issue before the Franklin Board of Aldermen a couple of months ago in hopes the town would begin marketing the eclipse early.
“On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, the moon will pass between the Earth and the sun and the moon will obscure the sun,” Hubbs told the board. “We will have a total solar eclipse for over two minutes. I think the town should take advantage of this event — it’s not too early to promote Franklin as a viewing destination, and I think we could fill every hotel and restaurant for two to four days in advance of this event.”
Town Manager Summer Woodard said the initial planning is already under way to capitalize on the event in cooperation with the county, the tourism development agencies, the Economic Development Council and the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. While there are no specific details at this point, Woodard said Franklin would be planning some sort of event or festival to celebrate the solar eclipse.
“This event stands to have a huge economic and historical impact on Franklin,” she said.
Ideally, people won’t just be staying for the day of the eclipse. The hope is they’ll stay several days while eating at local restaurants, making purchases from local merchants and staying in local hotels or campsites.
Safety factors
Over the last couple of months, Breedlove has been working to organize a stakeholders meeting to discuss the logistics and marketing strategy for such a major undertaking. About 30 of those stakeholders, including SCC, Jackson County Schools, Emergency Management and Public Safety county staff, astronomy professors and airport officials, met on Tuesday at Southwestern Community College to begin hashing out the details.
“The event will take a significant amount of planning and education to ensure people experience it safely and enjoy it to its fullest potential,” Breedlove said. “I’ve been talking with other eclipse planning directors from across the country and sharing ideas back and forth about how we can best plan for this unique experience.”
In his research on eclipses, Breedlove has discovered other factors that could present safety issues other than a massive onslaught of people. Drivers on the road during the event could cause safety issues. Animals tend to notice the changes associated with any big celestial event and may retreat to their crates, make excessive noise or run away.
“Many things will happen all at the same time,” Breedlove said.
Weather is the one thing that is impossible to predict and control as WNC prepares to host thousands of people for the eclipse. An overcast or rainy day could put a major damper on viewing the eclipse. With some of the highest elevations in the eclipse track, WNC could luck out with a gorgeous clear day. On the other hand, the mountains can quickly become notoriously cloudy.
“Historically we’ve had good weather over the last ten years in Sylva on Aug. 21, so we’re hoping for a repeat next year,” Breedlove said.
Right place at the right time
The eclipse path of totality (total darkness) is narrow — about 70 miles wide — with Balsam bordering the west end of the path and Cleveland, Georgia, bordering the east end of the path. The path runs northwest up through Kansas City, Missouri and parts of Oregon.
It will be the first time in 26 years the United States has experienced a total solar eclipse. There have been several others in the last few years, but they’ve only been visible in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
“Totalities happen all the time across the world, but they don’t always occur over land since 75 percent of the Earth is water; the shadows often fall across the ocean making it inaccessible,” Breedlove said. “For many locations in America, it’s been 300 to 400 years since the last totality. In Atlanta the last one was in 1778 and the next one won’t be until 2078.”
Everyone’s maps and predictions about the eclipse vary, but Breedlove said the one certainty is it will take the entire region working together to ensure this event goes off without a hitch.
“There won’t be enough hotel rooms to meet the demand of those traveling to our area, so it’s in our best interest regionally to work together and share ideas with one another,” he said. “A high tide raises all boats, so I’d love to collaborate to see how we can market this event to draw people to the region for the event.”