SHELBY COUNTY, Ind. — The total solar eclipse is now exactly a month out and emergency responders are making sure all safety plans are finalized as the big day approaches.
Officials all across the state are expecting traffic and crowds like never before. It could impact how you and emergency responders get from “Point A” to “Point B.” Preparation is key and that includes agencies like the Indiana State Police.
“For ISP, it’s all hands on deck,” said Sgt. John Perrine with ISP. “All troopers will be working. Days off have been canceled.”
Perrine said troopers will be out in full force specifically placing themselves along highways and interstates where they can be ready for any possible emergency.
“Naturally anytime we have an increase in cars on the roads we have an increase in crashes, stalled vehicles, disabled vehicles on the side of the road,” Perrine described. “All those kinds of things kind of go hand-in-hand. So, we’re going to do the best we can to prepare for that.”
Perrine said State Police are also preparing for different weather scenarios.
“Because if it is cloudy in one of the other states that are in the path of totality, but clear here, we’ll see an influx of people,” he said. “But that influx will come very quickly.”
Local emergency management groups like Shelby County Emergency Management are also locking plans into place.
“Making sure that our fire departments, our ambulances will be strategically placed throughout the city and county so they don’t have to fight the traffic to get to the emergencies they need to get to,” described Shelby County EMA Director Denis Ratekin.
Ratekin said local law enforcement will do the same as they anticipate crowds of 100,000 people, almost doubling the local population.
“I’m telling people a 10-minute drive will probably take you at least an hour if not longer,” he said. “Treat it like a blizzard coming in. Have plenty of food. Have plenty of gas in your car if you do have to leave because you will be tied up in traffic.”
Wherever you plan to view the eclipse, officials are expecting traffic to be busiest afterward.
“As soon as it’s over, we’re going to have a mass amount of traffic all hitting the roads at the same time,” Perrine said.
State Police also want to remind drivers that if your GPS tries to re-route you off the interstate due to heavy traffic, keep in mind back roads might not be designed to handle much traffic so they could get gridlocked just as easily.
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