Boone County leaders: Residents to prepare for eclipse similar to winter storm preparation

Hotels in Boone County are 95 percent booked for Saturday, but leaders said more people are expected to drive into the county the day of the eclipse.

Terry Cassil, director of the Boone County Office of Emergency Management, said locals should expect traffic to be similar to when Mizzou has a home football game.

Cassil said locals should prepare for the eclipse and the weekend of the eclipse similar to how they prepare for a winter storm coming to town.

“When we’re going to have a winter storm that’s coming in, a lot of people prepare and they go to the grocery store, and they go get some gas. I would suggest go do that sort of thing, so that if you do happen to get hung up in traffic, you won’t run out of gas and be a part of the problem,” Cassil said.

Cassil said the county will be prepared by having emergency personnel monitor conditions throughout the weekend and by having volunteer personnel who are usually on call, such as the Boone County Fire Protection District, at stations on Monday.