Union County EMA holds 2017 Eclipse Session

Blairsville, GA – If you haven’t thought much about the upcoming eclipse event that is to occur on August 21, 2017, you might want to take notice. The Union County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), led by Union County Fire Chief David Dyer, held a meeting at 10:00 a.m. on July 20, 2017. Attending the meeting were officials from Union County Fire Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Blairsville Police Department, Georgia Forestry, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Tennessee Valley Authority, Union County Schools, Georgia Rangers, Union County Commissioner’s Office, Mayor Jim Conley and Staff, State of Georgia, Georgia State Patrol, Meeks Park, Vogel Park and the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

According to Dyer, it is estimated that 200 million people live within 2 hours driving time of the path of the eclipse. The concern in Union County is the possible influx of people from the Atlanta area, he said. Dyer handed out a questionnaire with five questions to all who were present, then instructed them to break into their respective groups and discuss the questions.

The five questions were:
1) What issues or problems do you expect that will affect your department/area?
2) What is your biggest concern?
3) Are you planning on having extra personnel? How many? Location?
4) What special actions or changes will your department/area have on that day?
5) What are some of your needs? These questions prompted some surprising revelations aside from the typical emergency management protocols.

Some concerns that were revealed were that all motel rooms and every available cabin rental is booked solid for the whole three days (Aug. 19-21). A large number of property owners are renting their properties and even their homes for exorbitant prices to people who didn’t get a room or cabin or ticket to get on Brasstown Bald. There might be people parking haphazardly along the sides of roads and trespassing on private property. Brasstown Bald has been closed to all except those with tickets. There will likely be a large number of campers and hikers flooding the area and attempting to hike to the top of Brasstown Bald, Blood Mountain, and other peaks, so the trail heads will be closed and manned. Vogel State Park is sold out and may close when they fill up, which will create roadside problems on the Gainesville Highway. There is the possibility that cellular service could be overloaded and unavailable for a period of time on that day. Dyer said that they are planning to man all outlying fire stations; licensed amateur radio operators are being asked to assist. With the influx of hikers it is expected that there will be more searches and/or rescues than normal which will deplete manpower from other departments. It is expected that local Blairsville traffic will be very heavy all three days because of the Off-the–Grid Festival on Aug. 18, 19 & 20 at the Union County Arena. There is concern that physical altercations may occur. Law Enforcement Officers will be placed on all dams; some dams may even be closed. Some places in or near Blairsville that are planning for eclipse viewing gatherings, according to the Union County Chamber of Commerce are Blood Mountain, Sawmill Restaurant, Butternut Creek Golf Course, Paradise Cove, Crossing Creek, Meeks Park and the First Methodist Church of Blairsville. Union County Schools have also opened their stadium and baseball/softball field parking lot to viewers.

UCS Superintendent Dr. Fred Rayfield said that he is considering closing the schools for the whole day instead of early release due to safety, security and traffic concerns. He said UCS has ordered viewing glasses for all students for their safety even though they will not be in classes when the eclipse occurs.

UCSO Chief Deputy John George said that the Sherriff’s Department is planning on double staff that day. Though not represented at the meeting, it was mentioned that the Coast Guard will be patrolling local lakes along with the Georgia Rangers.

Dyer said a lot of people think that they have to be on top of a mountain to view the eclipse. That’s not true, he said. Depending on your location (longitude/latitude, not altitude) in relation to the path of the eclipse, the duration of totality (complete ‘lights out’) will vary. For example, the estimated totality in Blairsville, GA is 00:01:58. In Young Harris, GA, totality is estimated at 00:02:19; Hiawassee, GA 00:02:27; Clayton, GA 00:02:35; and Andrews, NC 00:02:39. So, the totality duration increases as one moves northeast of Blairsville, to a point, then decreases. Blue Ridge, GA is right on the southern edge of the path, so folks in Blue Ridge would need to move northeast to either McCaysville or Blairsville for a longer duration.

In Blairsville,the start of the eclipse (partial phase start) will occur at 1:05:43 PM EDT. Totality start will be at 02:34:54 PM and will last approximately 1 minute and 58-9 seconds.

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