Falls County encourages landowners to take steps to protect their property during total solar eclipse

Published: Mar. 11, 2024 at 6:35 PM CDT

FALLS COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - Falls county is getting ready for the influx of visitors for The Great American Eclipse and is encouraging its residents to start taking steps to protect their property during the celestial event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the region.

Part of that is making sure residents have all of the information they need and are taking the right precautions.

“There’s going to be a lot of people from all over the country and the world that are coming here for this,” said Falls County Judge Jay Elliot.

A lot of local landowners in Central Texas are actually opening up their property to people looking for a place to view or stay during the eclipse.

Something they might not consider, however, is making sure they have the right insurance to protect their land and themselves in case of an emergency.

Judge Elliot explained that “it’s not just a ‘hey go camp out’ kind of thing, cause it’s a little more than that.”

Not only do landowners have to make sure renters have access to anything they need, they also have to protect themselves in case of damage to their property or an accident in which they could be liable for.

“If they’re going to have people there they probably need to talk to a lawyer so that they can get a rental agreement,” Elliot recommended, “it covers them from their negligence and covers them from them trying to sue the landowner”.

There’s a lot of different factors landowners have to consider before allowing people onto their property; and since many locals have no experience with it the Falls County emergency Management made a list of insurance, liability, and security information.

emergency management list information on insurance, liability, and security for landowners for...
emergency management list information on insurance, liability, and security for landowners for the eclipse(Isabella Quintanilla)

Elliot shared that this information is “just to give them a heads up on that so that they can cover themselves as best they can”.

These kinds of things can be unpredictable, and not taking the proper precautions or missing a step could end up with a landowner getting sued or property damage not being covered.

Any landowners opening up their land to eclipse visitors should inform law enforcement and emergency services of their plan, talk to their local city or county offices to make sure everything is in order, and most importantly have the right insurance.