Total Solar Eclipse
**** The 2024 Total Eclipse will be viewable from Mineola, TX***
On April 8, 2024 at 1:42 pm, the Total Eclipse will be viewable from Mineola, TX for 3 minutes and 44 seconds according to Nationaleclipse.com.
We are amazingly fortunate to be in the line of totality for this once-in-a-lifetime event! We encourage all citizens and visitors alike to view this event right here and with all the history and charm that Mineola is known for.
We also encourage all citizens to view the eclipse safely with the approve protective glasses and equipment. (ISO-12312-2) We have a limited supply at city hall available for $2.00
With such an event like this in our town, there are a few things that the Texas Department of Emergency Management has informed us to possibly expect:
Increases in traffic and population beginning on the 5th of April through the 8th
Limited cell phone service
Limited resources like gas, and food / household items
Travel delays on April 8th as visitors are arriving and leaving
How to prepare:
Have approved safety glasses to view the event
Have plenty of supplies to last a few days
Buy fuel or top off your vehicles in advance
Have cash on hand if you need to buy something
Move appointments to the next week to lesson traffic
Keeping Mineola and our citizens and visitors safe during this event is of utmost importance.
This is a request from the City of Mineola Emergency Management, Police Department and Fire Department:
With such an event happening in Mineola, there is a potential strain on our already understaffed emergency services. We cannot control events and gatherings being conducted outside of the city limits but information on these events could mean the difference between life or death.
We understand that there will be many landowners leasing space for people to camp and watch the eclipse. While the event will bring people to shop, dine and stay in Mineola, it also brings a concern. Our response area for emergency services encompasses 127 square miles. 117 of which are outside the city limits of Mineola. The eclipse event will happen at the peak of tornado season so there could be the potential to have storms occur during those few days while the eclipse goers are in the area. The concern is that rural areas that would normally have a lower population, could now have hundreds of people. This could pose a life safety issue if first responders are not aware of the increased number of people in these locations.
To help our first responders better service these areas, landowners within the Mineola Fire Department response area are asked to notify Mineola Fire Department and give a location, the approximate number of people that you are expecting, and the duration of their stay. This is not an attempt to regulate any event on private property, but part of our information gathering while our emergency responders plan for this event.
You can email your information to dmadsen@mineola.com or amunn@mineola.com. If email is not an option for you, please call 903-569-6237 to give your information. If you are not sure whether or not you are in our response area, you can contact us by phone or either of the above email addresses. Give us your location and we will verify if you are in that area. Please let us know as soon as you get the anticipated numbers for your location. Thank you for your cooperation as we try to make this event as safe as possible for everyone.
For more information, visit the link HERE
