The Paulding County Emergency Management Agency hosted last Tuesday, the Ohio EMA’s presentation on the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. Mr. Collin Campbell and Ms. Christen Swayer- Cunningham of the Planning Branch of Ohio EMA discussed the importance of planning now for the Total Solar Eclipse occurring on April 8th, 2024. Paulding County’s Solar Eclipse Committee was joined by Defiance County government leaders.
The presentation discussed many facets of the anticipated event. Paulding County is one of 55 counties in the state of Ohio, to be in the path of the Total Solar Eclipse. The last recorded total solar eclipse that was observed in Ohio was back in 1809 and the next one will not be until 2444. The state of Ohio is the site of the most darkness the earth will be covered by the eclipse, with Hardin County, being the location in the state, for it lasting over 4 minutes. Now that does not sound like much at all, but to the astronomers not only in the United States but around the world, it is the reason most of them will be coming to Ohio, next April. It is estimated that between 6 to 12 million people will be coming to view this amazing astronomy event.
Groups like colleges & universities professors, scientists, & students, NASA, Elon Musk’s Space X company, and to people just interested in saying they saw the earth go to total darkness during the day. It is estimated that nearly 70% of the United States population can drive to Ohio in one days’ time. So, what does that mean for Paulding County? Well, it is expected with our county being the flattest county in the region and one of the counties on the western side of the state, it will give those people the opportunity to view this in creditable event. Edward Bohn, Director for the Paulding County Emergency Management Agency, stated that we will see perhaps between 10,000 to 15,000 additional people occupying our county from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, on Monday, the 8th, of April, of next year. This is why the state of Ohio and Paulding County are planning now for the Total Solar Eclipse and the issues that we will be facing with the increased number of people, and the eclipse itself.
Paulding County officials have been holding meetings since November of last year to get key people onboard and discuss the problems that existed from the 2017 Eclipse in Kentucky counties and elsewhere. Director Bohn was first apprised of this event taking place, back in 2019 prior to the Pandemic and the state of Ohio has been in the planning stages, since the fall of 2021. The 55 counties in totality of the eclipse are being expected to have an Emergency Operation Plan in place by October and exercise that plan in a Tabletop manner.
Director Bohn has reached out to 16 county leaders, to form a committee to address the issues that will be facing Paulding County, leading up to the April 8th, event of next year. Some of those issues are; establishing locations for viewing, the safety of those visiting as well as our residents, the needed resources to deal with the increased population that weekend and the day of, traffic following the eclipse being over, merchandising, vendors and so much more. The committee will be meeting on a regular basis from now until the eclipse is over. The sub-committees and committee as a whole will be focused on the preparation, planning and being ready for this once in a life time event to occur in Paulding County, the state of Ohio and the United States as a whole.
