clean-up

Wednesday Storm Recovery Update

By ARLnow.com

Dominion appears to be making good progress in restoring power to customers still affected by Friday’s storms.

As of 2:30 p.m, there were 3,960 Dominion customers in Arlington without power. That’s down from 15,654 as of 10:00 yesterday (Tuesday) morning. Dominion says it’s a day ahead of its storm restoration target.

“Service for virtually all customers in Northern Virginia and the Richmond metro area who lost electric service because of the storms should be restored by Friday night,” the company said.

“We have more than 5,000 employees, retirees, contractors and utility crews from 18 states and Canada who will continue to work straight through the July 4th holiday and will not stop until we get the lights back on for everyone,” said Rodney Blevins, Dominion vice president of Electric Distribution Operations, in a statement.

Arlington County, meanwhile, said this morning that 17 County roads remain blocked following the storms. Crews are working through today’s holiday to clear road of downed trees and debris. The county said that two trees came down on roads last night, and cautioned residents to be aware of damaged trees and tree limbs, which can still pose a danger.

Four county intersections are without functioning traffic signals, while five traffic signals are on generator power.

Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Qunicy Street) is open until 9:00 tonight for residents who want to seek relief from the heat (or read a book).

Flickr pool photo by alvesfamily

Latest Recovery Statistics from Arlington County

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County says it is making good progress in its continued storm recovery efforts. The county released some updated facts and figures today regarding the storm cleanup.

  • 10 county intersections are still without functioning traffic signals, down from 96 immediately after the storm.
  • 18 county streets are currently blocked by fallen trees and debris, down from a peak of 45 after the storm.
  • County crews have collected more than 395 tons of storm-related debris.
  • Tree limbs and other plant debris is being turned into mulch.
  • Nine county crews are out collecting brush today.
  • Power and air conditioning has been restored the Culpepper Garden senior living center. Dominion had been asked to prioritize power restoration to the facility.
  • 911 is now accessible by cell phone, but landline callers are being asked to call the non-emergency number at 703-558-2222.
  • While those who can’t reach emergency dispatchers via phone are being asked to report the emergency at the nearest fire station, only one such incident has been reported. One person went to a fire station to report a grease fire at the Harris Teeter grocery store on Glebe Road.
  • Regular trash and recycling pickup was completed yesterday, except where streets were blocked due to downed power lines.
  • “Hundreds” of trees are down in parks, along with other plant debris. Park-goers are asked to “please use caution in County parks, outdoor facilities and trails.”
  • Long Branch Nature Center is expected to “remain closed for several more days.”

Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil

Areas Where Dominion Crews Will Be Working Today

By ARLnow.com

Dominion has released the following list of roads and intersections in Arlington where its crews are planning on working today (Tuesday).

Dominion says its on track to restore power to 80-85 percent of customers affected by Friday’s storms by the end of the day today. The company says 90-95 percent of affected customers should be back on line by Thursday night, with “virtually all remaining customers” restored by Saturday night.

Dominion crews and mutual aid crews will be working through the Fourth of July holiday, the company said.

As of 10:00 a.m., there were 15,654 Dominion customers still without power in Arlington, according to the company’s outage map. The planned power line work sites today are:

  • 14th St S
  • 16th St South
  • 4th St N & Washington Blvd
  • 6th St & N Lincoln St
  • Arlington Ridge Rd @ S 23rd St
  • Barton St & 2nd St
  • Carlyn Springs Rd & S 1st Pl
  • Columbia Pike & S Scott St
  • Lorcom Ln & Nellie Custis
  • N 23 Rd St & N Fillmore St
  • N 26th St & N Glebe Rd
  • N 29th St & Westmoreland St
  • N 30th St
  • N 36th St & N Kensington St
  • N Columbus St
  • N Kenilworth St
  • N Kennebec St
  • N Nelson La & N 27th St
  • N Pershing Dr @ N Oxford St
  • N 9th St & N Fairfax Dr
  • N Somerset St & Little Falls St
  • N. 13th St. & Buchanan St.
  • N. 26th St & N. Harrison S
  • N. Harrison St & N. 26th St
  • N. Woodrow St & 21st St
  • S 17th St.
  • S Courthouse Rd
  • S Frederick St
  • S Highland St
  • S Pollard St
  • S Taylor St
  • S Veitch St
  • S. 16th St & S. Nelson St
  • Washington Blvd
  • Wilson Blvd & N Liberty St

Flickr pool photo by ddimick

Scenes From the Clean-Up

By ARLnow.com

Drive across the county today and you see the same scene repeated over again.

Tree limbs down the the score. Fallen utility lines coned off and marked with orange flags. Neighbors out with shovels and snow blowers. Kids, off from school, toting around plastic sleds. Stretches where power and traffic lights were out (including a busy section of Lee Highway between Kirkwood and Veitch). Police and firefighters responding to call after call after call.

In the aftermath of what caused so much frustration last night were more glimpses of the good that snow brings out in many of us. On side streets, many of those neighbors with shovels and snow blowers were out helping to clear the still un-plowed roads. Others could be seen clearing public sections of sidewalk so others didn’t have to walk in the street.

From reader Ann B.:

I have to give a shout out to two great neighbors today.

I’ve lived near the corner of N. Adams and Lee HWY for over 6 years now. This morning, two neighborhood guys actually shoveled the snow from the southeast corner to the bus shelter on Lee. This is one of the few times this has ever happened in 6 years.

I had a young one with me and it made all the difference. It’s nice to see neighbors giving a hand!

(Reminder: Per the county’s snow removal ordinance, property owners must clear their sidewalks by early tomorrow morning.)

Although it was difficult to find a navigable place to park in many parts of the county, here are some of the photos we managed to snap around North Arlington this afternoon.

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Goat’s Head Among Weird Things Found in Barcroft Park

By ARLnow.com

A group of 20 volunteers conducted one of the more eventful clean-ups of Four Mile Run over the weekend.

The group, which cleaned up the portion of the stream that runs through Barcroft Park, filled 28 trash bags with items found in or around the water. Among the items they found were a bicycle, a computer, a 70 pound metal beam and — most amazingly — the severed head of a goat, horns and all.

“I have no clue what it was doing down there amongst the plastic bottles, pens, styrofoam cups, baseballs, etc… but it smelled quite foul and we bagged it with all the other garbage,” Dan Bronson of Arlington’s Community Volunteer Network wrote in an email. “It still had the skin on it so it hadn’t been there too long.”

Bronson said “everyone was mystified” as to how the goat’s head got here in the first place. One theory was that it washed downstream during Thursday’s storm.

“Who knows!” Bronson wrote. “In my experience Four Mile Run stream clean-ups tend to have at least one quite unusual object.”

To say the least.

Saturday’s stream clean-up was a joint effort of several volunteer organizations. There were six wounded warriors on hand from the veteran groups Team River Runner and The Mission Continues. Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and the Community Volunteer Network sent volunteers and helped to organize the event. A couple of Lockheed Martin employees also joined the clean-up.

In addition to the stream clean-up, volunteers also pulled and threw away a number of invasive plants found around the park.

(more…)

Digging Out, But Not for the Last Time

By ARLnow.com

Above: A pile of snow nearly reaches to the second floor of an abandoned motel in Crystal City. This was one of the county’s dump sites, described in this post from last night.

With brilliantly clear skies today, and a dry weekend predicted, the roads may actually get fully cleared before Monday, when our next batch of snow is expected to arrive.

In other news, the Arlington County government and courts WILL be open tomorrow. Schools, however, remain closed.

Snow Is Over, Clean-Up Continues

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County snow crews continue to work around the clock, focusing their efforts on main roads and emergency routes. The county says crews will not reach most neighborhood roads until Monday.

Here’s a list of safety guidelines from the county’s press release.

  • Hunker down. Stay off the roads and at home if at all possible.
  • Wear light-reflective clothing if you are walking.
  • If you must walk in the street, walk along the sides of the roads, not in the middle. Watch for emergency vehicles, snow plows.
  • Shovel your driveways, walkways, and the sidewalks in front of your property – make sure fire hydrants are cleared of snow.
  • If you have a downed tree blocking a road or on a power line, call 703-228-2222.