IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The soft orange light of the Sunday early morning sun filtered through the old church’s stained glass windows while the Rev. Ruth Marsh stepped down from the altar and asked her congregants if they had any special prayer requests.
“For sanity. For safety,” a voice called out. “It’s kind of scary to think that many people are coming.”
Marsh smiled and nodded. Another worshipper added, “And prayers for their safe return home.”
Soft chuckles rippled through the pews at Trinity United Methodist Church. Somebody near the front asked for prayers that the infrastructure of Idaho Falls would survive. And no fires please.
With the nation riveted by the pending arrival of an extremely rare coast-to-coast solar eclipse, prime viewing spots such as Idaho Falls are bracing for traffic congestion, strains on infrastructure, an economic boost and some inflation — and hoping for clear skies.
The sun, moon and Earth won’t come into alignment until Monday, but the eclipse has already shaded nearly ever aspect of life in this town of about 50,000 that straddles a tree-lined section of the Snake River and counts fishing and kayaking as its biggest tourist attractions.
The largest event each year is the Fourth of July celebration that draws about 100,000. If estimates are to be believed, the population in the area could grow up to 10 times that amount for the eclipse.
“They’re telling us to have four days of water stored, prepare for power outages and even gas has already gone up 20 cents a gallon in the last week,” Cindy Isaacson said.
Not that she was completely convinced: “It could be just Y2K all over again.”
She was in the Idaho Falls Visitor Center over the weekend picking up several solar eclipse glasses for her family. At $2.12 each, the center had blown through half of its supply of 50,000 a week before the event.
The eclipse sunglass economy has been flourishing.
Domino’s Pizza, Arctic Circle, Wal-Mart, the Riverside Deli and several other locations were all hawking them on marquees throughout town. The Museum of Idaho had been giving them away for so long that Zoe Sehlke had her spiel down pat as she handed them to visitors — sounding like a flight attendant going over how to use the inflatable vests on a plane.
“Don’t touch the lenses. Don’t scratch the lenses,” she said. “If the lenses are scratched, they’re useless. On ours there are two sides, the blank side and there’s a print side. The print side is worn out.”
The museum is a bit of a hub for the eclipse experience. NASA trucks are rolling into town this week as Idaho Falls has been designated as an official NASA observation site, and the space agency will be broadcasting live from the museum when the eclipse begins.
So will television’s local KIFI chief meteorologist Michael Coats. He said he’s been getting anxious as people seem poised to blame him if the skies aren’t pristine and clear for the historic event.
He said he’s never felt so much pressure to deliver a good forecast in his 11 years in Idaho Falls, though he gamely tries to remind people that he, in fact, doesn’t control the weather. The last few days have been cloudy.
“I get stopped at the supermarket, the coffee shop — even getting my tires changed — and they’re asking me about what the weather will be,” Coats said. “The cloud cover is a little disconcerting right now, but it’s not entirely unusual this time of year with afternoon thunderstorms that build up in the late morning.”
The so-called path of totality, a 70-mile-wide band where 100 percent of the sun will be blocked by the moon for about 2 minutes, is considered the optimal place to watch. In Idaho Falls, the initial phase of the eclipse is expected to start at 10:15 a.m. with totality happening at 11:33 a.m.
Idaho Falls is deemed a prime viewing location, given the wide-open spaces immediately outside town.
Hotel rooms have largely been sold out for months — even years — and some that normally go for $100 a night are booked for up to ten times that much, with a three-night minimum stay.
The eclipse has also spurred controversy as KIFI reported a woman who reserved a room at Le Ritz Hotel and Suites for $140 three years ago saw the owner call her two weeks ago to tell her the nightly rate was increasing by $60.
Kerry Hammon, spokeswoman for Idaho Falls, said the city also had to change its short-term rental ordinances so Airbnb could operate.
