Office of Emergency Management holds state-facilitated meeting with local county leaders

The total solar eclipse that is two months away is getting the whole state in motion. Area agencies took the time Tuesday morning to discuss with the state’s Office of Emergency Management about possible issues that could come with the large crowds expected to show up to witness the rare astronomical event.

The Office of Emergency Management said our region is the most-prepared in the state.

“The path of totality actually goes west to east across the entire state, so it is a literally statewide event. And all of these communities that are in the path of totality — this has never happened before, so we’re really just trying to provide as many resources as possible,” Sarah Flick, with the Idaho Department of Tourism and the Department of Commerce, said.

The officials discussed what they are doing in getting prepared for the total solar eclipse. County leaders were able to use this time to learn the state’s role of support.

“We do a hazard analysis for all events. We determine what are the potential things that can go wrong and then we try and mitigate those to eliminate those hazards — to the hazards we can eliminate. Then we prepare to respond and support the locals to address those hazards,” Mike Clements, area field officer of the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, said.

Many topics were discussed, including situational awareness and critical infrastructure: what the population will be like at one time, and which city landmarks or locations will have large groups of people.

Access to people — was another big topic. If we see 50,000 or more visitors, the Idaho Transportation Department warns that amount of traffic will not fit our roads.

“We know the roads are going to be congested and we have to be able to get our ambulances and paramedics and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) to folks. So we’re working on a plan to overcome that with mules and golf carts and alternate vehicles to get to them,” Chief Dave Hanneman, with the Idaho Falls Fire Department, said.
This area will also be at the height of our wildfire season when the eclipse occurs.

“Aug. 21, the day of the eclipse, is also the exact day last year where we had the big Henry Creek Fire. So we want to make sure that everybody is very fire safe. We’re going to be asking our county commissioners for a burn ban that weekend so tat we can minimize the risk to wildfires,” Hanneman said.

A couple of other topics were discussed like sharing resources between counties, and training for missing children on a larger scale. These meetings and planning are all about preparedness for yourself, your businesses, and loved ones.

There will be a public community meeting in Bonneville County — on July 26 at 7 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium. The public, business owners and managers from all sectors are encouraged to attend. More information on this meeting will be announced shortly.