Burnet Eclipse Festival canceled early due to possible severe weather
BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Texas Eclipse Festival in Burnet ended early Monday due to a potential threat of severe weather in the area, according to an announcement on the festival’s website and social media. The notice was also posted online by the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office.
“We regret to inform you of the severe weather forecast, including risks of high winds, tornadic activity, large hail, and thunderstorms for later today, including during the eclipse, Tuesday, and Wednesday,” the festival said in a statement.
Citing safety as a top priority, and “with the support and coordination of Burnet County officials, local safety agencies, and The National Weather Service,” the announcement went on to say festival organizers agreed to end the festival early on Monday, in a “calm and orderly manner.”
KXAN Meteorologist Rich Segal said Burnet’s weather looks dry Monday. Any precipitation would be light with no storms or severe weather expected Monday. Future Clouds and Radar show rain as early as 3 to 5 a.m. Tuesday with some non-severe storms possible after 8 to 9 a.m., then again Tuesday evening.
Forecast details: It’s Eclipse day… with storms to follow
The five-day fest was scheduled to last through Tuesday.
At least 30,000 people descended on the small town of Burnet for the festival. The sheriff’s office said it expects a surge of traffic in the county to begin later Monday morning or in the early afternoon and asked people in the area to be patient and avoid making unnecessary trips.
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office had its drone in the air Monday keeping an eye on exiting festival traffic to ensure there were no incidents people were unable to report because of bad cell signal.
“The cell phones are kind of jammed up so we’re just kinda keeping an eye out and over watching,” said Paul Kowalik with BCSO. He was piloting the drone Monday.
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office used its drone to keep an eye on exiting festival traffic | Grace Reader/KXAN News The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office used its drone to keep an eye on exiting festival traffic | Grace Reader/KXAN News The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office used its drone to keep an eye on exiting festival traffic | Grace Reader/KXAN News
The feed from the drone was transmitted to the emergency operations center at the sheriff’s office and could also be seen by deputies out in the field on their cell phones.
“I have been out here since [20]17 and I’ve never seen anything like this. We’ve had several festivals out here but nothing to this magnitude,” Kowalik said.
Festival organizers advised attendees wanting to beat traffic to leave early, but noted that they may stay for the eclipse Monday afternoon if they pack and are prepared to leave after totality.
The partial eclipse begins in Burnet at 12:17 p.m., and the total eclipse begins at 1:34 p.m. Totality duration will be 4 minutes and 20.4 seconds.
Festival organizers gave the following guidance in light of the early cancellation:
Please begin packing and prepare to leave the campgrounds promptly.
Prioritize safety and responsible driving when leaving the venue, following traffic laws and weather advisories.
All programming and performances for Monday and Tuesday are canceled.
No additional guests will be permitted to enter the venue.
Inbound shuttles to the venue are canceled.
Our team is coordinating shuttle services and organizing groups for an orderly departure.
You will receive an email with a partial refund policy soon, addressing details and timing
We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this process. Rest assured, we are dedicated to your safety and will provide ongoing updates.
The announcement also noted guidance may change based on weather.
If you have any special circumstances or ADA needs, you can call festival organizers at 561-247-3339 for assistance.
The festival has been met with complaints from locals and musicians who were set to perform. Some nearby residents said they were dealing with music noise all night long.
“The main complaints that we’ve gotten so far have been noise complaints,” Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd told KXAN Sunday. “They have bands playing all night long, which we really didn’t realize. That really wasn’t part of the permit process…in the county, we really don’t have rules. There’s a certain decibel amount, but it’s pretty high. So, we really don’t have a lot of leverage to shut them down.”
Boyd also said they approved the permit for the event, and had been in talks with organizers as of Sunday, seeing if they can stop loud music after midnight.
Aside from the experience for those attending the festival, one artist raised concerns regarding accommodations. KXAN reached out to event organizers about all concerns. They responded with a statement, saying in part they were “actively communicating with local agencies and our neighbors about our music,” and that they’d “reduced the impact already and will continue to work to make adjustments.”
Jala Washington and Grace Reader contributed to this report.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
