Official: Solar eclipse traffic headaches could extend into Wednesday in Greenville County

Like the city of Greenville, there's a whole list of unknowns when it comes to the solar eclipse in Greenville County. 

County emergency officials expect anywhere from 400,000 to 500,000 people to drive into Greenville County to catch the solar eclipse on Monday afternoon, potentially carrying traffic headaches into Wednesday. 

The state of South Carolina is expecting anywhere from 500,000 to 2 million visitors, according to state officials. 

At 2:38 p.m. Monday, the moon will block the sun over the Upstate region, putting the area in total darkness for about two minutes.

What occurs before, during and after total darkness: "We'll find out Monday," said Capt. Damon Hubber, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management.

"What we're pretty much dealing with is the unexpected, the unknown," Hubber told County Council on Tuesday. 

More:Eclipse: A 'host of unknowns' in Greenville, chief says

More:Everything you need to know about the eclipse

Hubber said the county is aware of at least 46 eclipse-related events on Monday. 

Those events, he said, have attendance estimates anywhere from 300 to 16,000 people.

As of earlier this week, hotels in the county were at 74 percent capacity, while Saturday night reached an 84 percent capacity. 

Hotels are completely full on Sunday night, he said. 

Hubber noted there are some available homes and rooms on sites such as home-sharing website Airbnb. Though, it could cost visitors a pretty penny.

"We've got people paying $25,000 for four-day rentals in peoples' homes right now to see this event," he said. 

Greenville County

On Monday, officials will split the county into three sections to better patrol incidents. 

The northern command center will be at Duncan Chapel Fire District, Station 2; the central command will be at TD Center; and the southern command post will be located at the South Greenville Fire Department. 

All three posts will report back to the county emergency operations center. 

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office will also deploy more than 300 deputies on the road Monday. Hubber said the Highway Patrol has ensured him the agency intends to send additional officers throughout the area of totality.

Additionally, Sheriff Will Lewis said resources such as bomb disposal units and special operators will be on-call in the case of a critical emergency. 

Red Cross of South Carolina will also be available if needed, Hubber said. 

Lewis said Greenville Health System will staff extra employees on Monday and have air support on standby. 

"We're prepared for potential critical decisions," Lewis said. "Our responsibility on Monday is to preserve social order."

Eclipse concerns

Of major concerns to county emergency operations are traffic and weather. 

Hubber said while traffic congestion is expected on Monday, problems could arise on Tuesday, even Wednesday, as most of South Carolina heads back to school. 

To ease traffic, S.C. Department of Transportation will cease any and all interstate and primary road construction from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Hubber said.

"We're concerned about people stopping on the side of the road to view the eclipse. That's going to be an issue," Hubber said. "I just talked to a gentleman earlier today who said he didn't know the eclipse was coming on Monday." 

As of Wednesday morning, Monday's forecast was partly sunny with a high near 89 degrees, according to the National Weather Service at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport. There is also a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms that day, though the weather service has not yet predicted the timing of potential storms. The expected overnight low is 72 degrees.

For more on the eclipse, visit gceoc.com/eclipse-2017.php. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained the incorrect location for the Greenville County central command and incorrect spelling for Capt. Damon Hubber's last name. 

Elizabeth LaFleur contributed to this report.