‘Totality or bust’: Sulphur Springs prepares for tens of thousands to view Solar Eclipse

Nolan Hoffman
·2 min read

SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (KETK) – It’s the calm before the storm in Sulphur Springs as the city gears up to be a prime viewing spot to see the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.

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“This is amazing to be able to host something like this,” said Kelli Lee with the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce.

By Monday at 1:43 PM, Sulphur Springs will be directly in the path of totality when 40,000 to 50,000 extra people are expected to come into town to be a part of history.

“Our hotels have been full,” said Lee. “Our surrounding areas are full.”

That includes Linda and Tom Swoboda who drove all the way from Chicago to see the eclipse.

“My brother saw the eclipse and raved about it,” said Swoboda. “Took pictures said it was unbelievable. So, I put it on the calendar, I put it on a wall and I said I’m going to see this, totality or bust.”

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The city said they only expect it to get busier as the weekend goes on into Monday and law enforcement is all hands-on deck to hopefully keep things safe and under control.

“Our main emphasis is safety for not only our visitors coming in here but our citizens of Hopkins County,” said Andy Endsley, Hopkins County Fire Marshal.

Endsley and others have been working on preparing for the mass influx of people for almost two years.

“A lot of plans have been built on this and we’ve got those out to all the department heads throughout the county and we’ve all been meeting together,” said Endsley.

He expects heavy traffic throughout the next few days.

“The influx is going to come in spurts, and we will notice the uptick of traffic,” added Endsley.

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Many extra first responders will be on duty and law enforcement will even be using air patrol to see which areas need monitoring but most importantly, they’re hoping for the best.

“Even for the amount of people that they’re projecting to be here, with the preparations that we’ve made on this, I believe that we’re ready for this,” added Endsley.

All the preparations are being made so everybody can stay safe and enjoy something you might only see once in a lifetime.

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