Spain Braces for 500,000 Eclipse Visitors as Wildfire Fears Spur 350 Official Viewing Sites
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 12
Spain Braces for 500,000 Eclipse Visitors as Wildfire Fears Spur 350 Official Viewing Sites
3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Aug 12
Summary
At least 500,000 extra visitors were expected across northern and central Spain on Wednesday for a total solar eclipse lasting about one minute there just before sunset.
Spain set up 350 official viewing sites and restricted access to 123 others, while more than 33,500 officers were deployed to keep crowds away from fire-prone areas.
Temperatures above 35C and dry vegetation sharpened the risk only weeks after a record wildfire in Ávila burned 500 square kilometers and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Eclipse glasses sold out at many pharmacies as demand surged, and hotel rooms along Spain's path of totality and in Reykjavík topped $1,000 amid heavy bookings.
The eclipse also crossed Greenland and Iceland, where totality lasted up to 2 1/2 minutes off Iceland's west coast but cloud forecasts threatened the view.