BRIGHAM CITY -- The Packers moved steadily, checking measurements, rolling out the tape, then marking boundaries with neon string.
Jeff Packer, his wife, Elaine, and son, Adam, were three of the hundreds of people who helped prepare for today's Brigham City temple groundbreaking ceremony.
Their Friday morning was spent laying out the grid for the 2,400 chairs to be filled by people gathering to see the program.
It takes weeks of work to prepare for just one hour of celebration this morning, but it's all worth it for residents excited to see a temple in Box Elder County.
Dawna Roskelley, of Brigham City, came to check out the site layout. She's bringing four generations of family today, including her 90-year-old father.
"I don't know if I have words to express how I feel about it," she said. "We're ecstatic. I never thought I'd see a temple come here in my lifetime. It gives me chills just to talk about it."
Jeff and Elaine Packer are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Box Elder Stake, which is coordinating the groundbreaking preparations. The twelve stakes in the area the temple will serve are all helping out with the preparations.
The 2,400 seats that will fill the area they are staking off are for those with tickets, but bystanders are welcome to come watch around the chairs, across the street at the tabernacle or by broadcast in the tabernacle and the 12 participating stake centers.
"Everyone's just so excited," Elaine Packer said, looking up from the seating map.
Local law enforcement has been gearing up, too, but the problem they face is simply not knowing how many people will show up.
"We're planning for 25,000 people, and if we only get 5,000, we'll consider ourselves fortunate," said Jim Buchanan, Brigham City emergency services director.
He said they've been planning for a month and have to make sure everything's in place. Roads must be closed down, 36 police officers are on duty, volunteer groups are on hand to help, and ambulance and fire crews are at the ready in case something happens.
"Six weeks of work, and within an hour, it's over," Buchanan said, "but if you don't do it, you could be in trouble. I can downsize a lot easier than I can upsize."
Jeff Packer and his son, Adam, said it can sometimes be hard to work because so many people want to know what's going on at the site.
That is probably only going to get worse when construction starts, Buchanan said.
He said people are paying so much attention to what's happening at the 250 S. Main St. site that they aren't paying attention to driving. He has seen some near accidents.
But for one hour, residents can just enjoy seeing a temple come to their city -- a day many didn't expect would come.
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