WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Local emergency management agencies are known for preparing and having the answers when serious situations happen. The total solar eclipse on April 8 is no exception.
Preparations for the event have been a journey for Jeff Klein, director of Wood County Emergency Management Agency. He and the agency have been preparing for over a year.
"The process has been somewhat overwhelming because this is a once-in-a-lifetime event that very few people have ever seen," Klein said. "We are able to get some information from the 2017 solar eclipse, but there’s unfortunately some different caveats have gone with it."
The circumstances during the eclipse will be different as towns and counties are anticipating their population to double with eclipse watchers. The population of Wood County is approximately 132,000, so officials are making plans to accommodate as many as 264,000 people.
Due to the population increase, another factor to plan for is the availability of emergency assistance. Response teams will have to make adjustments.
"What we have normally done is we rely on our neighbors for mutual aid and things like that. That is not going to be the case for this," Klein said. They're still working out plans to address that ... but one thing they can't really do much about ... the weather forecast."
The last total solar eclipse in the United States was in August 2017. The weather is easier to predict in August as heat, humidity and sunshine are easier to come by at the end of summer. April weather is volatile with spring trying to emerge, but winter still trying to hold on. The cloud cover and temperatures are difficult to predict for April when planning years in advance.
Though parts of the planning are uncontrollable, our local teams can learn from others' experience in 2017.
"They learned a lot of valuable things, and there’s actually a couple areas that were in [the 2017 eclipse] and they’re gonna be in the 2024 one," Klein said. "So they’re making changes to what they did before. So we’re trying to work with them to get the best practices."
Wood County Emergency management team has been planning for the total solar eclipse for years. The planning does not just happen in Wood County as multiple calls and meeting are occurring between Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, State EMA Association, fire, police and highway representatives. They are just a few people of the many planning ahead for the total solar eclipse.
Not only has the state of Ohio been planning for years, but this event is on the national level, and will affect towns and cities through 12 states.
As officials do the early planning and preparations, those in the path of the total solar eclipse can consider how this event will affect us each individually and within our communities.
MORE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE COVERAGE FROM WTOL 11