By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Two years from now, this region of Ohio is expected to see an invasion.
For the first time since 1806, Ohio will be in the prime viewing area for a solar eclipse between 3-3:10 p.m. on April 8, 2024.
The next solar eclipse over Ohio won’t occur until 2444, according to Wood County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Klein.
Klein, who spoke last week to the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club, warned that the prime viewing location will flood this region with spectators wanting to view the eclipse.
Since Ohio is within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. population, those areas along the eclipse route are expected to see their populations triple or quadruple.
“None of us has ever experienced this,” Klein said. “It’s just going to overwhelm us.”
With the flood of spectators will come traffic jams especially right after the eclipse occurs, depleted grocery shelves, overwhelmed cell phone towers, and packed hotels, campsites and restaurants.
While this will provide financial opportunities, it will also create headaches, Klein said.
“The grocery stores are going to start running out of food,” he said. As for anyone traveling through the area, “you ain’t moving,” he added.
During the solar eclipse visible in Kentucky in 2017, extreme gridlock occurred. Spectators who traveled five hours to get to viewing areas, reported 17 hours to get home.
“The expressways were shut down. They ran out of fuel. The restaurants ran out of food,” Klein said.
Law enforcement, fire and EMS are expected to be overwhelmed, he added.
“Everybody who has been to these, the first thing they talk about are the roads shutting down,” he said.
And with the eclipse occurring in April, weather may be an issue, Klein said.
“What we’re talking about today is the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
In preparation, a state level eclipse planning task force has been created. A local task force may also be formed.
Klein is encouraging groups like the Kiwanis to offer opportunities for spectators to arrive early and stay late – to spread out the congestion.
“We’ve got a couple years to think about it,” he said.
Schools in the eclipse path are already talking about making the day a stay-at-home educational day. It would be impossible for school buses to navigate the crush of traffic right after the eclipse, Klein said.
Wood County District Public Library Director Michael Penrod said the library will be stocking up on eclipse glasses for the event.
“We already have our glasses on order for this,” Penrod said.
There have only been 15 solar eclipses visible in the U.S. since 1867, Klein said. The 2024 eclipse will travel a course from southwest to northeast Ohio, taking 10 minutes to traverse the state.
In Wood County, it will start getting dark about 90 minutes before the total eclipse, which is predicted to last about 90 seconds.
