Fearing they could be overwhelmed with visitors, officials in the remote Nevada county that's home to the Area 51 military base have drafted an emergency declaration and a plan to team resources with neighboring counties and the state ahead of events next month tied to the "Storm Area 51" internet drive.
The elected board governing the county with about 5,200 residents conditionally approved two events Monday for tiny desert towns near the once top-secret U.S. Air Force test area known in popular lore as a site for government studies of outer space aliens.
"Oh, we're taking this seriously," Lincoln County Commission Chairman Varlin Higbee told the Las Vegas Review-Journal . "With the possibility of 35,000 to 40,000 people showing up, yeah, this is serious."
FILE - In this July 22, 2019 file photo, Linda Looney wipes her face outside of the Alien Research Center, a gift shop on the Extraterrestrial Highway, in Crystal Springs, Nev. Officials in Nevada's rural Lincoln County have drafted an emergency declaration and are planning with state officials to handle possible crowds that might arrive for an event next month dubbed "Storm Area 51." The county commission on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019 conditionally approved two events in tiny desert towns near the site popularly known as the home of government studies of outer space aliens. (AP PhotoJohn Locher, File)
County officials are concerned that a surge of visitors will crowd campsites, gas stations and public medical, internet and cellphone services. Officials count just 184 hotel rooms in the county nearly twice the size of the Connecticut.
"The cellphone system is going to go down," Higbee said. "You get more than a couple of hundred people there, and it's going to crash. Cell service won't be available."
The Little A'Le'Inn in the community of Rachel, population about 50, is scheduling a three-day music festival Sept. 20-22 dubbed Alienstock. Hotel co-owner Connie West has said she's expecting 10,000 people.
FILE - In this July 22, 2019 file photo, alien-themed graffiti adorns a rock along the Extraterrestrial Highway, near Rachel, Nev., a town close to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51. Officials in Nevada's rural Lincoln County have drafted an emergency declaration and are planning with state officials to handle possible crowds that might arrive for an event next month dubbed "Storm Area 51." The county commission on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019 conditionally approved two events in tiny desert towns near the site popularly known as the home of government studies of outer space aliens. (AP PhotoJohn Locher, File)
The Alien Research Center souvenir shop in Hiko, a town of about 120 a 45-minute drive from Rachel, plans a Sept. 20-21 exposition.
The events evolved from an internet post inviting people to run into the remote test area in the Nevada desert that has long been the focus of UFO conspiracy theories.
County Sheriff Kerry Lee said Tuesday he was meeting with state emergency planning officials.
FILE - In this July 22, 2019 file photo, a sign advertises state route 375 as the Extraterrestrial Highway, in Crystal Springs, Nev., on the way to Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51. Officials in Nevada's rural Lincoln County have drafted an emergency declaration and are planning with state officials to handle possible crowds that might arrive for an event next month dubbed "Storm Area 51." The county commission on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019 conditionally approved two events in tiny desert towns near the site popularly known as the home of government studies of outer space aliens. (AP PhotoJohn Locher, File)
County officials have also met with officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in Clark County, the sheriffs of White Pine and Nye counties, and the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Eric Holt, county emergency manager, asked commissioners to "pre-sign" the emergency declaration.
Higbee, who has authority to invoke a declaration, said it would let Lincoln County seek financial help and emergency personnel from the state.
"We don't know where or how far our resources are going to go," he said. "A lot of it is equipment and financing. The county only has so much money to deal with."
Higbee said visitors should not to try to enter Area 51.
"We don't want them going down to government property; it will probably be blocked off," he said. "We don't want civilian people in contact with the military at all. That will get ugly."
The conditional permits require festival and event organizers to submit final plans to the Lincoln County Commission by Sept. 3.
"They have to have their security, medical, parking plans and few other things (ready)," Higbee said.
Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com
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Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
