Madras Airport makes more room for eclipse campers

A large plot of land just east of the Madras Municipal Airport will hold 1,500 RVs for a late-summer special event like no other. You can stay for $125 a night or $300 for the whole weekend leading up to the Monday, August 21 solar eclipse.

Preparations for the eclipse have been going on for a while now, but with the number of people expected to come to Central Oregon for the festivities still rising, it can take a toll on the hosts.

​”We’ve had people calling in for reservations for over a year now,” airport Assistant Manager Tracy Berg said Wednesday. “We basically haven’t been able to do our regular jobs at the moment, because we’re having so many people registering currently right now.”

​You can arrive at the campsites for the eclipse as early as Thursday, Aug. 17, and leave as late as Tuesday, Aug. 22.

And it’s not the only area on the airport property where you can catch the eclipse. People will be able to use one of the runways to fly in, then camp under their wings.

With all this new space being opened up, the airport has to bring in more volunteers and security. And t here are so many places in town trying to capitalize on (or cope with) the eclipse crowds that by now, there are few people left to help out.

“We are going to have security, and we’re working on trying to get volunteers,” Berg said. “But most people are already booked up, so we’re actually pulling out of Washington (state).”

And there’s no rest for the weary. Once the eclipse ends, the Madras Airport will be hosting another event.

“The Air Show of the Cascades starts that Friday right after,” Berg said. “So I think we’ll be camping out at the airport for about two weeks.”

NewsChannel 21’s complete coverage of the upcoming eclipse, including interactive maps and features, can be found at http://www.ktvz.com/eclipse2017