PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to converge on Northeast Ohio next month for the total solar eclipse. We are in the path of totality for the April 8 event. Lake County is expected to double in population for the days surrounding the event.
Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno said his agency has been in contact with law enforcement agencies in cities that have been in the path of totality.
“In those areas, the population has doubled, certainly for two to three days,” Leonbruno said.
Traffic is expected to be a big problem.
“Some places that it would take you a half hour to travel to a destination took six to eight hours,” he said.
Because of the potential traffic issues, Leonbruno said most schools in the county are closed, and most court cases have been canceled. There will be more dispatchers working, and staffing for first responders will be beefed up for accidents and medical emergencies.
But that’s not all that Leonbruno is concerned about.
“There is always that threat that people want to do us harm use an event like this where a lot of people are gathered to do some type of terror event,” he said.
The Lake County Emergency Management Agency has been preparing for the eclipse for two years.
“We’ve done everything we can to prepare for it,” said Joe Busher, Director Lake County Emergency Management Agency. Busher said they’ve been working with dozens of agencies to prepare and get the word out to residents to prepare.
“Prepare early with fuel and food. If you don’t have to be on the road that day, stay off the road,” said Busher. Prepare as if a snowstorm was on the way, he said.
