DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) -- Thanks to hearty preparation, local leaders say the solar eclipse on April 8 was a total success.
Agencies spent a culminated three years getting ready, and leaders say it was all about being proactive.
"We did a lot of proactive messaging ahead of time to make sure that the community understood what was going on with the eclipse and that they were taking appropriate precautions," said Brad French, PIO for Dayton Fire Department.
In the Greater Dayton area, emergency operations centers were monitoring traffic patterns for those walking and driving. They reported that on Monday, there was not a significant change in the volume of people in Dayton. ODOT reported similar traffic to that of a Thanksgiving holiday.
"The difference being that even with those high travel holidays, that spreads out over several days, whereas this was spread out over several hours," said Matt Bruning, ODOT press secretary.
The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency was set up in Miamisburg and activated on Eclipse Day. The agency normally only activates for extreme weather events. This activation was in preparation for major traffic concerns and issues with those on the road.
Water buffaloes were on standby, positioned throughout the county in case water supply issues were to arise.
2 NEWS spoke with EMA and they say it takes a lot of planning and coordination to be prepared to be on standby with these services.
"Just like any other team. We have to exercise and make sure that we know those skills and are able to perform really quickly and really efficiently," said Deb Decker, director of communication and PIO for Montgomery Co. EMA.
ODOT will release official eclipse travel numbers later in the week.