LIMA, OH (WLIO) - We're about a month away from the total solar eclipse and a group of officials from Allen County took time this afternoon to answer some questions about what they're preparing for that day.
Your Hometown Stations hosted a Facebook Live event to talk about the April 8th eclipse. Allen County Sheriff Matt Treglia, Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith, Lima/Allen County Chamber president Jed Metzger, and EMA director Tom Berger fielded questions about the influx of people coming to Lima and around Allen County to see the total eclipse. One big thing they stressed is that if you live in the area, stay home if you can because of the expected jump in traffic.
"We like to concentrate on that 3 o'clock to 3:05 of that totality, but the eclipse starts at 1:54 and will run until just about 4:30 so during that whole time frame we're anticipating that folks may be pulling off on the side of the road to see as the eclipse as it starts so we're asking folks to be aware of your surroundings if you have to be on the roadways and make sure that you're taking those precautions as needed," stated Tom Berger, Allen County EMA Director.
We also talked to medical experts about how the hospitals are preparing. Joining the health discussion panel was Brandon Fischer of Allen County Public Health, The Eye Site of Lima's Dr. Jeff Unterbrink, Chief of Mercy Health-St. Rita's Police Gene Smith, and Lima Memorial Health System Executive Director of Ancillary Services Burlin Sherrick. Optometrist Jim Unterbrink says that keeping your eyes healthy starts with getting the right glasses to view the event.
"Probably the easiest way are the ISO certified glasses that we actually still have some in the office if people want to come pick a few pairs up, and you also can also use a welder's helmet, usually a shade 13, 14, or 15, so I know that's been a question before. I fielded questions that people that are like why can't I just use regular sunglasses? That's not an approved option and could cause definitely damage to your retina," said Dr. Jeff Unterbrink, The Eye Site of Lima.
If you would like to see the full question-and-answer forum, you can watch it on our Facebook page or website.
