A year and a half of emergency preparation will be put to the test on Monday when the eclipse darkens the sky over Lake Erie's coastline.
According to Chatham-Kent Fire Chief Chris Case, preparations for this event started well before it caught the public's attention.
He said the Emergency Management Eclipse Planning Committee has been meeting in advance since November 2022.
"We worry so you don't have to," said Case. "We've been meeting for well over a year just to try and be ready for what could be a lot of people coming to Chatham-Kent."
That's one of the biggest concerns, according to Case. He said he's anticipating some major disruptions on the roads in the event that hundreds of people flock to the area.
"It's difficult to plan around that because we cant build more roads," said Case. "So it's really just trying to get the message out that for a day there's going to be a bit of disruption and people should be prepared."
Currently, Rondeau Provincial Park, is the only large open air location that will be open on Monday, providing washroom facilities, parking, and space for viewing. Regular day-pass rates range from $12.25 to $21.
"We can't plan for a certain number of people because there's no actual way of knowing," said Case. "The hotels are booked in Erieau. When you look at the planning going on Niagara, they've declared an emergency because they're expecting millions."
Chatham-Kent police will be implementing safety measures and traffic control plans to keep eclipse-goers safe. In addition to that, Case said there will be extra resources, including firefighters and paramedics, on duty Monday.
"We're launching two boats, one in the bay and one in the lake [in Erieau]," said Case. "We've got additional paramedics down there. We're staffing the fire stations."
The total solar eclipse, which has been dubbed the "event of a lifetime" and was last experienced in the province on February 26,1979 in Northern Ontario, will graze across a path of Southwestern Ontario on April 8.
The moon will start inching in front of the sun around 2 p.m. and take just over an hour to completely cover it. The sky will turn its darkest in Chatham-Kent at approximately 3:15 p.m.
"The whole of southern Chatham-Kent will have a great view," said Case. "You don't have to go to just one place."
While it might be too soon to predict where the clearest sky in Ontario will be on Monday, it's not too early to tell how the forecast is shaping up to be.
Chatham-Kent is in for partly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers, and a high of 15 degrees celsius.
If the weather in Chatham-Kent proves to be more pleasant than in Niagara Falls or other parts of the province, it could potentially attract an even greater number of visitors to the area.
"[We] hope for the best, plan for the worst, and want everybody to have a great day," said Case.
