Oregon's Depoe Bay is preparing for the first total eclipse to traverse the continental United States in a century as if a natural disaster was bearing down on the small coastal city.
The town, home to just 1500 residents and a single traffic light, is near the spot of land where the total eclipse will first appear on August 21 as it begins cutting a path through 14 states to the Atlantic.
That distinction has raised fears that a tidal wave of visitors will descend on Depoe Bay to get a first glimpse at "totality" a week from Monday.
"Totality" is when the moon passes in front of the sun, blotting out its light and exposing the glowing "corona" around its perimeter. After a little more than two minutes, the phenomenon will end in any given location as the eclipse moves to the east on its coast-to-coast journey.
"We're a double ground zero," said Pat O'Connell, who owns a small gallery and gift store facing the rocky sea wall, where thousands are expected to gather when the sky darkens and the eclipse comes in to view.
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Mayor Barbara Leff says one of the major challenges is anticipating how many people will show up.
The spectacle is the first in 99 years to span the entire continental US, the world's third most populous nation. It will also be the first total solar eclipse visible from any of the lower 48 states since 1979.
The city's handful of hotels and campgrounds have been sold out for months and crowd estimates range from thousands to hundreds of thousands.
