GETTING READY FOR DARK Swanton Police Chief John Trejo left addresses attendees at a public meeting regarding the upcoming total solar eclipse in April while Fulton County Visitors Bureau Director Julia Brink takes a break from running the meeting to listen and pull up information on the screen behind her
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Fulton County Visitors Bureau and the heads of emergency services in Swanton warned residents during a meeting Thursday at the Swanton Public Library to be prepared for a wide variety of challenges surrounding the total solar eclipse next month.
A large chunk of the county, including most of Swanton, lies in the path of totality of the April 8 eclipse – meaning the full solar eclipse will be visible.
According to geographer Michael Zeiler’s website GreatAmericanEclipse.com, somewhere between 1.8 million and 7.4 million people in the U.S. traveled into the path of totality to witness the last solar eclipse in 2017.
A University of Michigan study on the 2017 eclipse calculated that roughly 154 million Americans watched it directly whether they witnessed the total or only a partial eclipse. It also estimated 20 million people traveled in order to be in or closer to the path of totality.
Zeiler’s site predicts between 1 million and 4 million will travel into that path for this eclipse, and that Ohio will see somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 visitors across the state.
All schools in Fulton County have preemptively scheduled a closure for the date of the eclipse. “They canceled school pretty much everywhere in Ohio for this,” Swanton Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling said.
Kepling took some precautions when scheduling shifts during the astronomical event. Normal staffing at the fire department is four to five individuals, enough to make two advanced life support ambulances available at one time.
From Saturday, April 6 through Monday, April 8, Kepling is going to have six to seven people working, enough to staff two ambulances and a fire engine.
Swanton Police Chief John Trejo said he will also be increasing staffing. He noted that since the eclipse is on a Monday, some people may make it a long weekend and come in early.
According to Trejo, hotels near the center of the path of totality are and have been booked. He said highway patrol had some traffic-related issues on the turnpike during the 2017 eclipse and pointed out the possibility of problems with cellphone and radio usage due to the potential number of people trying to use it at once in a small area.
The SPD will have HAM radio operators on hand to assist with communications if necessary. “I think we’ll be okay; we’re just trying to prepare for everything,” Trejo said.
Fulton County Visitors Bureau Director Julia Brink, who ran the meeting, shared a printout with attendees outlining a series of potential challenges business owners should be prepared for during the eclipse and the days surrounding it.
The first and likely most important piece of information was the safety rating required for eclipse viewing glasses to actually be safe (a truly effective pair will be marked ISO 12312-2 rated). But the remainder varied widely in effect and impact.
Like Trejo said, communications could be affected by the sheer volume of usage. To that end, merchants are being warned to expect more cash transactions, have a backup plan in case card readers go down, and be prepared for customers to ask to use your landline if cellular communications are interrupted or ineffective.
The document also recommended employers encourage their employees to do things like top off their gas tanks ahead of time and have their own supplies at home.
“Be aware many visitors will be camping in authorized and potentially unauthorized locations; expect customers who may be primarily interested in using business restrooms,” it reads.
“Public restrooms will be in short supply and port-a-potties in limited locations may be at capacity until serviced.”
Employers are encouraged to plan for an increase in customers generally, to consider extending their hours of operation and have backup plans in case employees are delayed due to traffic, to take precautions to avoid or plan for the possibility of deliveries meant for Monday being delayed or otherwise inhibited.
Another possible issue is a large turnout of visitors combined with cloudy weather making the eclipse unviewable.
According to figures presented during the meeting, the Fulton County area has historically been overcast on April 8 from 60 to 80 percent of the time.
For more information on the eclipse in Ohio, visit https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/ohio-total-solar-eclipse.
