The small town of Nevada near Secret Zone 51 is a team for alien hunters

RACHEL, Nevada (Reuters) – Connie West, co-owner of an extraterrestrial-themed motel located in the tiny outpost of the American Desert in Rachel, Nevada, thinks they're coming at any price. Not extraterrestrials, but extraterrestrial hunters.

A whimsical invitation on Facebook urged UFO enthusiasts to gather on September 20 to "storm" nearby Area 51, a long-established US military base for aliens and spaceships. More than 2 million Facebook users have announced their intention to go there.

Residents of Rachel, located 240 km from Las Vegas and counting about fifty people, are divided on how to react. Some severely warn the public to stay away, fearing that large crowds will submerge a city without a gas station or grocery store. Others, including West, feel that the best is to welcome them with a music festival dubbed Alienstock.

"We are trying to find a way to make it a positive from an absolute negative," West said in an interview. "You can fight it, but it's coming."

West, along with her mother, runs Rachel's only business, the Little A'Le'Inn motel and restaurant, and has been flooded with phone calls since the publication of the publication on Facebook. According to her estimates, at least 30,000 people will arrive on September 20 and she is struggling to order enough portable toilets. By mid-August, she had 30.

Area 51 has been kept secret for decades, fueling conspiracy theories that it hosted extraterrestrial bodies and a damaged spaceship in Roswell, New Mexico. The US government has not confirmed the existence of this base until 2013, the year of the publication of the CIA archives, claiming that the site had been used to test very secret spy planes.

The documents make no mention of little green men or flying saucers, but that does not put an end to the suspicions.

Rachel and her surroundings have long celebrated their place in the UFO tradition as a tourist attraction. A 98 km (158 km) road running through the area is dubbed the extraterrestrial highway, a so-called hotbed of UFO sightings.

But when a Facebook user, Matty Roberts, of Bakersfield, Calif., Invited people to visit Area 51 on foot, in a large group "to see them from aliens," aviation he warned.

"Any attempt to illegally access military facilities or areas of military training is dangerous," said an air force statement in response to questions about the military. # 39; event.

The Air Force said it was using these facilities to test fighter jets and train personnel. The entrance is dotted with cameras and warning signs not to let pass.

Concerns about crime and livestock

Roberts is now trying to attract people to Alienstock, a three-day music festival held at Rachel's. West stated that she had obtained permission from local homeowners to fence 12 hectares (30 acres) for camping and parking purposes, and that she had arranged to have a truck come in. -content, hire security personnel and paramedics.

A website sells Alienstock parking and camping permits, but does not list any artists. Roberts did not respond to requests for comment, but locals have a lot to say.

"We are a group of worried residents who really do not want this to happen," said Joerg Arnu, who runs websites on the story of Rachel and Area 51. "This will destroy Rachel as a beautiful little town in the desert. "

Arnu called on the authorities to close the two-lane road that leads into town to keep people away during this period.

The locals worry, he said, that visitors include "quite a few crooks" and the crowd is damaging the property.

"The locals will do whatever it takes, and I will leave it there to protect their properties," added Arnu. "We hope that this will not give rise to a confrontation, but if it is, there is a very strong potential to become ugly."

He also fears that the city's power lines, mobile phone service and internet connections will be cut off and visitors will not be at risk locally: cattle on the road. Every year, cars collide with livestock because they are hard to see at night, he said.

West urged future revelers to bring water, clothing for warm temperatures during the day and cold temperatures at night, as well as fuel.

Approximately 40 km (64 km) from Hiko, Nevada, a gift shop called Alien Research Center also hosts an event with food trucks, bands, games and entertainment on September 20 and 21. .

Commissioners in Lincoln County, including Rachel and Hiko, are taking steps to prepare, including drafting an emergency statement that can be invoked to appeal for state assistance.

The West said the region had no choice but to embrace the sudden interest in Area 51. Such resistance would fuel more conspiracy theories, a- she explained.

If the local authorities had urged people to stay away, "they would think we had something to hide," she said, "that we are building relationships with the government."