|
Updated: 5:41 PM Jun 27, 2010
Charlottesville Continues Storm Cleanup; Hundreds Remain Without Power
What began as a large gust of wind in Charlottesville Thursday night quickly grew in intensity and resulted in downed power lines, trees into homes and debris in streets. Dominion Virginia Power reported Sunday after that 571 in the Charlottesville-area remain without power.
Posted: 6:37 AM Jun 25, 2010Reporter: Jessica Jaglois; Chris Stover; Mark Tenia Email Address: news@newsplex.com |
|
31 Comments 
Photos 
June 25, 2010
The Charlottesville area continues a massive cleanup after a microburst Thursday afternoon left behind a huge amount of damage.
Dominion Virginia Power reported that 571 customers in the Charlottesville area are without power, as of 6:00 p.m. Sunday. They said crews from northern Virginia, Richmond and the Tidewater area have come in to assist in cleanup and power restoration.
A Dominion representative said he expects power to be restored to most people by 10 p.m. Friday night. However, the Charlottesville Fire Department tells CBS19 that they expect isolated pockets in Charlottesville to remain without power until next week.
The storm occurred shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, right before rush hour. In a matter of minutes, trees and power lines littered many roadways, and cars crowded Charlottesville roads since the work day had just let out.
Customers can call the toll-free number, 1-866-DOM-HELP, for further assistance.
The city has set up a hot line for residents with non-life threatening storm concerns. Residents can call 434-979-INFO for those problems. Additionally, city officials have announced a special storm pickup beginning Monday for city residents and businesses. People can put cut tree debris at the side of the roadway, but officials warn the cleanup process could take several weeks.
The storm also affected power at city parks, causing the Parks and Recreation Department to alter its weekend hours.
__________________________________________________________
June 24, 2010
For many people, the storms came out of nowhere.
"All of a sudden, it just got insane, you know," Charlottesville resident Daniel Kuttner said. "Sideways rain. It was like a sheet of water on the windows."
"We were crying because we just heard this gigantic thump," Charlottesville resident Luna Kuttner said.
Downed power lines and trees shut down many streets throughout the area. City officials warn that just because a power line is down doesn't mean it is safe to touch or clear out of the way. Dominion crews have been throughout the area clearing live wires from the roadways.
Charlottesville Fire Chief Robert Bragg reported approximately 90 calls as of Friday morning for service ranging from down trees on structures, lines down, trees on vehicles, gas leaks and elevator rescues. Bragg said there was one reported minor injury when a tree fell onto a car on Rugby Road.
While some trees landed on cars, others landed on homes. The Kuttners' house suffered minor damage.
"I built the house single-handedly," Daniel Kuttner said. "It took me four years. I always knew it was well constructed and strong, but it got tested last night."
Not all homes were so lucky. Two trees cut through one home, destroying it.
"In 35 years, never had a tree hit us once," Charlottesville resident Robert Shank said.
Shank said he had just woken up from a nap. His wife was in the kitchen.
"And I looked out the window, and I saw a storm going on, and I crossed over into the hallway. About that time, the pull-down attic came down and practically into my face. And then I heard a tremendous crash like an artillery shell landing in the house," Shank said.
A large branch also crushed his wife's car. He said it's all replaceable though, and he's thankful neither he nor his wife got hurt.
For a storm that took only minutes, residents said it could take days or weeks to get their lives back on track.
Latest Comments
A while ago, Chip Harding wanted to put non-violent inmates to work outside prison. Cleanup from this storm would have been the perfect use. Seems as though we could have / should have had a road gang on Barracks road cleaning up - would have been done by now and made it may have made it easier for the power crews to finish.
the problems here in this part of the world is there are so many "above" ground wires. Prudent tree trimming by both city and home owners would be beneficial. DP has its hands full. Traffic cops standing at the light outages on 29 "chewing gum" and not directing traffic or even paying attn to efforts of some to enter the traffic flow is a problem!
Is anyone else having telephone trouble? We've had no dial tone since the storm and our dedicated local phone company doesn't even seem to know about it. Call center in FL didn't seem to much care, either.
 |
 |
- ABC Agents Arrest Alleged Moonshiner, Seize Stills
- Made in Central Virginia: E.A. Clore
- Retired Charlottesville Police Lieutenant Dies at 72
- Big Developments in Huguely Murder Case Days Before Trial
- Virginia Tech Discovers Exotic Pets in Steam Tunnels
- Albemarle County Deputy Attacked by Rooster
- UVa-Wise Chancellor David Prior Dies at 68
- Culpeper Police Charge 3 Teens with Stealing from Cars
- One Killed in Tractor-trailer Wrecks on I-81
- Va. Inmate on Work Release Escapes
- Albemarle County Adding More Red Light Cameras?
6 Comments - UVa Students Fight for Equality for Service Workers
6 Comments - ABC Agents Arrest Alleged Moonshiner, Seize Stills
6 Comments - City Expecting Media Frenzy for Huguely Trial
5 Comments - National Unemployment Rate Hits 3-year Low
5 Comments - UPDATE: Arrest Made in Charlottesville Armed Robbery
4 Comments
 Live News |
Weather Now |
 Desktop Alert |
 Mobile |
 iPhone App |
 Text Alerts |
 |
|
YouTube |
| News Poll |
Today's community events.