Upstate officials ask for patience as thousands head to South Carolina to see solar eclipse

Now that up to 2 million visitors are expected in South Carolina to see the total solar eclipse, emergency officials statewide have urged residents and visitors to use patience and make plans ahead of their travels. 

"We expect there to be a lot of traffic issues and headaches in that respect," said Jessica Stumpf, planning coordinator with the Emergency Management Division of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. "We want residents and visitors alike to be prepared."

South Carolina is expected to be one of the best states to catch the eclipse, which will stretch along a 60-mile-wide path starting from Oregon on Aug. 21. 

The eclipse will pass through over Greenville at 2:41 p.m., then Columbia at 2:45 p.m. and Charleston at 2:48 p.m., lasting anywhere from two minutes and 30 seconds to two minutes and 36 seconds, according to the state Emergency Management Division. 

Stumpf said officials aren't sure how many visitors will watch the eclipse from Greenville County, but anywhere from 500,000 to 2 million visitors are expected statewide. 

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On the day of the eclipse, local, county and state officials will huddle in the county's emergency operations center in City Hall. Outside, the Greenville Police Department will have additional officers on that day to assist visitors and and help deal with traffic, according to Master Patrolman Johnathan Bragg. 

Sgt. Ryan Flood, with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, said the agency will outfit every sworn officer in uniform that day and use them if necessary. 

There are roughly 470 sworn deputies, he said. 

The city has not said yet if any roads will be shut down in downtown Greenville. Bragg said the agency is still hammering out details.  

The city of Anderson, as well as Anderson County as a whole, are gearing up for the eclipse, too. Both the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office and the Anderson Police Department will increase patrols.

Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart said the city is not expecting crowd sizes and traffic congestion to exceed that of a typical Clemson football game.

“We will add probably a few more officers because of traffic, (but) it’s not going to be an overwhelming police presence,” Stewart said. “We’ll have a presence just to be seen in the crowd, unless we’re needed.”

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office is taking a similar stance, putting out a few more deputies to assist wherever they’re needed, said Lt. David Baker, director of emergency management.

In Anderson, there will be no road closures specific to the eclipse, Baker said, adding he doesn’t anticipate any major traffic dilemmas since so many of the events are spread across the region.

“I’d like to think that through training and so forth that we are prepared for events like that, as much as we could be,” Baker said. “We would be prepared to handle anything that occurred.”

Glenn Brill, director of Anderson County’s parks, recreation and tourism division, said he expects at least 60,000 people to visit the county on the 21st – and that’s the low estimate.

“If you’re local and you’re out driving that day, there’s a lot of people and they’ve never been here and they’re thinking about the eclipse – and that’s it,” Brill said.The highest estimate for visitors to Anderson County for the eclipse is more than 245,000, he said.

South Carolina, Brill explained, has the most people living nearby or within the state than any other state across the path of totality –  the total population closest to the path of totality for South Carolina is more than 94 million. Tennessee comes in second at 55 million.

The low estimate for visitors to the state is about 540,000, and the high estimate is 2.18 million, Brill said. On top of that, more than 200,000 additional cars are expected to be on South Carolina roads that day as well.

That number of cars could be driven upward if bad weather hits the Columbia and Charleston areas, Stumpf said. 

"There's a couple of concerns we do have. One would be a mass exodus of people out of here, getting to a place to see the eclipse," she said. "Vice versa, if we have great weather here, but not in Charleston, that's an even bigger influx here." 

State officials have encouraged residents, if they haven't already, to make their plans now to view the eclipse. Officials also encourage having a full gas tank, cash from the ATM and a good stock of groceries before the weekend.

Stumpf added, be prepared that due to the sheer number of people, cellphone and Internet services may be spotty. 

Driving somewhere to watch the eclipse? Officials say get there early and don't leave until well after the eclipse is over. 

In the car during the eclipse? Don't stop on the interstate or on the road and keep driving, officials said. 

Either way, Baker said, both the city and county officials encourage those who don’t have dedicated plans to attend an event to just stay home. With proper glasses and a great vantage point pretty much anywhere in the county, it isn’t a bad idea to set up some lawn chairs or throw down a blanket in your own backyard, he said. 

“Do the research, be very well prepared,” Baker said. “It’s certainly a memorable event.”

For South Carolina eclipse tips, visit scemd.org/totaleclipse. 

For Greenville County, visit the Emergency Management of Greenville County website at gceoc.com or follow on Facebook, or on Twitter and Instagram using @GreenvilleCoEMD.