KAUFMAN COUNTY— The total solar eclipse is expected to pass right over Kaufman County on April 8th, and TXDOT warns of heavy traffic and possible gridlock.
KAUFMAN COUNTY— The total solar eclipse is expected to pass right over Kaufman County on April 8th, and TXDOT warns of heavy traffic and possible gridlock.
Steve Howie, Kaufman County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, told inForney.com that based on the 2017 eclipse and communication from other local governments, including the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), he expects Kaufman County will see upwards of 200,000 visitors on April 8th. The totality is expected to be just over 4 minutes.
Some local districts have canceled classes on Monday, April 8th, and instead allocated that day to staff development. Crandall, Forney, Kaufman, and Terrell ISDs are among those districts that canceled classes on that day.
Kaufman County Judge Jakie Allen has issued an Emergency Declaration that begins on April 5th and goes through 11:59 p.m. on April 9th to allow the County to have more resources to handle the influx of visitors on April 8th.
Judge Allen told inForney.com that he encourages citizens to be safe and plan for increased traffic that could last for hours.
“We want to encourage Kaufman County citizens to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to do so safely. There will likely be a lot of traffic, so plan routes accordingly and allow extra time for commuting. It’s awesome that some within our county will have a front-row seat from their property to view this incredible event,” said Judge Allen.
As for viewing safety, NASA recommends on their website that you use safe solar viewing glasses and not look at the sun directly through a camera lens or anything else.
“When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun,” states their official website.
“Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.”
