It is what it is. The newscasts tonight said Oregon roads were unusually clear (with a few exceptions as noted). It appears the locals are trying to stay out of the way, but we do that here on the coast every summer so the tourists visiting can enjoy themselves, even when stopping traffic for a photo.
We will see what happens Sunday and Monday. Like I said, "... August 22nd will be a great relief!" Compared to a great many "American" films, I liked Godzilla a lot. 73 Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Fred Jensen Sent: Friday, August 18, 2017 5:13 PM To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Eclipse logistics and em-comm nets? Jeez Ron, it sounds like the intro to one of those B-grade disaster movies from my childhood. No one knows if Godzilla will show up. The eclipse likely won't extend past the normal attention span of a teenager ... then everyone needs to leave and return home. I do hope the hams are ready if needed. OH, forgot ... there are those who take offense at calling Godzilla a B-movie. I am truly sorry and I apologize. 73, Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW Sparks NV DM09dn Washoe County On 8/18/2017 11:57 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > Other than I-5, Oregon's highways are one lane each way with few exceptions > in more built up areas. As Eclipse viewers arrive, the roads fill up fast. > Local news reported that one town in the eastern Willamette Valley had a 30 > mile long bumper-to-bumper back up yesterday. I-5 should be moving at least. > > Here in Newport on the central Oregon coast (within the band of "totality"), > traffic is heavy and growing worse by the day. People are being reminded that > they may NOT camp on the beaches. Besides, we should have record high tides > caused by the sun and moon tides converging on eclipse day. Many beaches will > be under water. Lodging and camps are at full capacity. In spite of visitors > being warned they will be fined, we expect to find roadsides that have any > space and parking lots everywhere filled with campers and trailers. During > the eclipse we expect to find vehicles just stopping in the road to watch, > oblivious to the fact it stops traffic for as long as they sit there (that > already happens from time to time every summer when people stop in the middle > of the highway, get out of their vehicles, and take pictures (sigh...). > > The local telephone services are installing many hundreds of portable > "towers" to augment the regular cell towers. Even so, I won't be surprised if > Wayne is correct: Amateur Radio may be the most reliable communications > system. > > Also, hundreds of additional ambulances are on scene to handle more > emergencies, although whether they will be able to get where they need to go > is in doubt. Many roads have NO shoulders where people can pull over. A deep > drainage ditch runs down each side of most rural roads just off the edge of > the pavement. > > A number of helicopter ambulances are arriving to help where emergency > vehicles cannot reach. > > National Guard personnel are being dispatched to help with traffic in various > locations and they have better off-road vehicles for places where the > highways are jammed. > > One major concern locally is on the morning of the 21st when people here > discover the sky is overcast (as it usually is on the coast this time of > year- at least until noon) they will try to head east along US20, one lane > each way through the 3,000 foot coastal mountains, to reach cloudless skies. > > Gas prices up over a dollar ($3.25 yesterday) and are sure to continue to > rise as long as the pumps don't run dry. Gas is delivered from over the > coastal mountains and it's likely that no new deliveries are being made > before the crowds dissipate. > > Similarly, grocery store shelves are emptying out and may not be restocked > before the eclipse. > > Our local water company is concerned about handling the load imposed by > having 5 or 10 times the normal number of people using it. They recommend > storing extra water now. > > Overall the emergency services point out that this is a great test of our > readiness for the anticipated "Cascadia event" that we train for regularly > including strong earthquakes, tsunami and no passable highways for several > days at least. > > That may be, but August 22nd will be a great relief! > > 73, Ron AC7AC > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to r...@elecraft.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
