SPECIAL REPORT: Area 51 Invasion

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Thousands of extraterrestrial enthusiasts are expected to descend on the desert for the 'Storm Area 51' event.

Nevada's elected officials are keeping a careful, and nervous eye on the social media-driven event.

Senator Jacky Rosen has been in contact with the Department of Defense, making sure any crowds that show up are safe and secure. However, part of this event's lure is its history, where the government owns so much of the land and carries out secret stuff on a good chunk of it.

"Where it also fits with Nevada is the whole notion of the federal government hiding something from us,” said Michael Green, Associate Professor of History at UNLV. “Area 51 fits into that because we don't really know what goes on out there for the very logical reason that the government wants to keep it a secret - they're testing things."

The world has always been fascinated with the unknown. Area 51, one of the country’s most highly-classified military facilities, has the allure of both science, and secrecy -- perhaps now, more than ever.

When a meme appeared on Facebook calling for people to storm Area 51 on Sept. 20, the response was overwhelming. Upwards of three million RSVPs were made on that official post, followed by two planned events along with two emergency declarations.

Owners of the Little Ale’ Inn in Rachel, Nevada were suddenly inundated with calls.

“It’s insane, our phone has literally not stopped ringing,” said Connie West, who owns the inn and restaurant.

Meanwhile, 40 miles away, near Alamo, the Alien Research Center was transforming itself into a basecamp for believers.

“We are doing a ‘festival,’ but ours is actually an alien festival," said George Harris, owner of the Alien Research Center. “We’ll have ufologists well-known in the paranormal, in the ufology community that will come and speak.”

Matty Roberts, the college student who posted the original meme, sought to partner with the Little Ale Inn, but later then backed out.

"We didn't want to be a part of something that would be a potential Fyre fest 2.0,” Roberts said in a release.

But Little Ale’ Inn owners say tickets have been sold, and thousands are still expected, so her festival will go on. As for Roberts, he’s now hosting an alien party in downtown Las Vegas.

Now remains the question of how many will actually show up? How far will they have traveled, and what will they find when they arrive?