The coming eclipse in August is expected to bring massive crowds to eastern Idaho, with estimates up to a half million visitors. With the posting of photos and videos on social media, there are major concerns that communication could become a problem, according to the Post Register.
“You’re looking at something really big, so cell towers are going to be jammed,” said Andi Anderson, manager of the Bonneville County Dispatch Center.
Emergency managers countywide have been anticipating the influx of activity.
“There are several planning meetings that have taken place,” Kellie Farrar, assistant to the Bonneville County Office of Emergency Management told the Post Register. “There will be an incident management team during the eclipse that will be overseeing emergency response.”
“We are aware of the potential for cell phone coverage going out,” Hanneman said. “What we’ve been told is especially during the totality part, if people try video streaming it will probably shut the system down.”
Multi-county exercises are planned for next month, where emergency responders will test their ability to handle a variety of scenarios, including situations where communication is impaired, the Post Register reported.
“If you have a landline that could be used,” that’s a potential way to dial 911, Hanneman said. “But one of the things we have in Bonneville County is you can use your phone to text 911.”
AT&T said it’s working to put more Cell on Wheels (COWs) in place ahead of the eclipse.
June 9, 2017
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