‘Hunker down’: Hill Country town advises residents to stock up ahead of April eclipse

Eric Henrikson
·2 min read
13

LLANO, Texas (KXAN) — The April 8 eclipse is a little more than a month away, but Hill Country leaders want residents to get ready now. A Facebook post from the City of Llano published on Feb. 26 is asking residents to stock up ahead of the eclipse.

“In a nutshell, have two weeks worth of groceries purchased in advance by April 1. Same thing is true for vehicular fuel, prescriptions refilled, errands run and any other supplies you may need purchased a week before the coming eclipse,” the post, published as part of the Mayor’s Minutes, said.

The post followed a recent town meeting. For months, eclipse experts have advised smaller Texas towns located on the eclipse path that they can expect thousands of visitors during the once-in-a-lifetime event.

“This eclipse is going to be the last eclipse for a long long time, we will have eclipse watchers flocking to our area, we don’t know for sure how many will be here, but we have prepared as best we can as a city to meet the challenge,” the post stated.

The city is asking for residents to make all their purchases by April 1, in order to give retailers time to restock ahead of any visitors. They’re also advising people “hunker” down for several days to avoid the extra traffic woes.

KXAN reached out to the City of Llano about the post, but has not yet heard a response.

Small towns prep for the eclipse

Llano isn’t the only town taking steps to prepare for the event. The City of Kyle, which sits on the edge of the eclipse path, recently hosted a town hall to address concerns. RV demand has skyrocketed, with many smaller towns expanding their camping options.

Geographers have tracked where these expect the most people to flock to during the event. The town of Kerrville may see as many as 500,000 visitors during the event.

This eclipse is the last total solar eclipse over the United States until 2044. There won’t be another total eclipse over Central Texas for several hundred years.

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