Oregon parks sell out of campsites for solar eclipse

BAKER CITY, Ore. – People eager to see the total solar eclipse next summer have booked all of Oregon’s available campsites for the celestial event.

The Baker City Herald reported that the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department began accepting reservations for campsites at state parks within the path of totality – in which the moon will completely block the sun on Aug. 21, 2017 – and campers claimed every one of the 1,200 sites within an hour.

The path of totality is about 90 miles wide and passes right through Baker County. Four state parks in all are in the path.

Parks Department spokesman Chris Havel said there had been some concerns that the department’s reservation system would crash, but that the system performed well with the high level of interest.