Lights Begin to Come On in Falls Church
By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF
July 1, 2012
Power crews began restoring electric service to some neighborhoods in Falls Church City Sunday, as delighted residents enjoyed lights and air conditioning for the first time since Friday night’s storm. The service was spotty, however, with some homes lit up brightly while next door neighbors remained disconnected from the grid.
City Councilman Ira Kaylin surveys storm damage on Virginia Avenue.
Power company officials were still attempting Sunday to determine when electricity would be completely restored to Falls Church City following Friday’s storm. On Saturday, Dominion Virginia Power indicated it could take several days for their crews to restore power to the City. By Sunday morning, company spokespersons were hoping to conclude a regional evaluation to provide customers with a more specific time estimate.
The storm, classified as a “derecho” because of its broad front and high winds moving in a singular direction, felled numerous trees and large limbs, downing power lines and associated infrastructure. Commercial tree services from Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia were in Falls Church City cleaning up the damage.
Most businesses in the City were closed Saturday and Sunday, although some, like the Giant at West Falls Shopping Center, used back up generators to remain open. Restaurants in the area that were open did a brisk business. Some gas stations that were open ran out of gasoline.
Falls Church City Schools announced that summer activities would be canceled for Monday July 2.
City Hall announced that its crews would pick up tree debris through July 11, instructing residents to cut limbs to lengths of eight feet or less.
Falls Church Water issued an alert for customers in Tyson’s Corner, Dunn Loring, and Vienna to boil their water before drinking. Customers in those area should continue the precaution through July 2, the time required to conclude system testing following the storm.
Neighbors discuss the loss of an age-old oak.
Crews clear a tree blocking East Columbia.
By Falls Church Times Staff
July 1, 2012
Power came on at 3:30am…yippee. It’s been a long weekend.
Which restaurants are open?
Still no response to the tree blocking Great Falls St. I would think such a large tree, blocking a major road would be a priority but no sightings of anyone to remove it – certainly not Dominion. No Dominion sightings since early Saturday in the City but 4 trucks sitting idle with their crews in South Arlington on Sunday.
How do you boil water without power???
Has anyone seen a Dominion truck inside the City??
Great job by the City crews going through and removing debris. They were out there all day Sunday clearing streets.
Residents of City of Falls Church proper–within our 2.2 square miles–are NOT under the Water Advisory, so there is no need to boil water.
For a map of the Advisory area, go to our website, http://www.fallschurchva.gov
Advsiory in effect until further notivce.
We ask for voluntary water conservation, too. Please don’t water your lawn, wash your car, take extended showers, etc.
All updates can be found on http://www.fallschurchva.gov, http://www.facebook.com/CityofFallsChurch, and Twitter (@fallschurchinfo)
City employees who have been working around the clock since Friday night really, really appreciate your support!
Michael, I’ve seen several Dominion trucks in the City. A couple yesterday near Columbia Baptist and I saw two rolling down Broad street a little before noon today. I’ve also seen several Dominion cars driving around doing assessments.
That tree across Great Falls is a monster! I assume its size and potential power issues are why it hasn’t been taken care of yet – certainly many other trees have been cleared.
If it gives anyone hope, we got our power back on here on Little Falls last night at about 11pm. It has gone out at least twice since then but only for a minute or two.
As for boiling water, that’s a good question. However, according to this map if you’re in Winter Hill you don’t need to boil your water: http://dropcanvas.com/0wgq5 (I dropped the City’s PDF on another site because the City’s site seems very slow today). Unfortunately, I’m guessing there are folks in the boil zone that don’t have power.
Cross-posting:
To Falls Church-area folks who were affected by the earlier boil-water advisory, I and other Councilors have a 2:03pm message from our City Manager saying that the advisory has been lifted. Manager writes in part: “We received the second round of Lab tests at 1:20. They are negative for bacteriological growth. This is good news. We just got off conference call with Va Dept of Health, Ffax County Dept of Health, Town of Vienna, and Washington Aqueduct. We are lifting the boil advisory, and will advise all media outlets.”
Dominion crews were on S. Maple and restored full power to Pearson Square this afternoon and our A/C units were reset within 2-3 hours. Dominion’s website lists their work locations daily and there were quite a few listed for the city today:
Allen St
Annandale Rd
Ardley Ct
Arlington Blvd & Tripps Run
Chicamuxen Ct
Dale Dr & Rt 7
E. Broad St East of Buxton Rd
E. Broad St. & Noland St.
Glen Forest Dr
Graham Ct
Graham Rd
Graham Rd & Quincy Dr
Great Falls Rd & Little Falls St
Great Falls St & Grande Ln
Greenway Blvd. N of Lee Hwy
Griffith Rd
Haycock Rd Near Falls Reach
Idylwood Rd & Helena St
Kaywood Pl
Kennedy St
Lakeford Dr
Lee Hwy & Cavalier Tr.
Lee Hwy. & Rosemary Ln.
Leesburg Pike near Redfield Dr
Lincoln Ave E of Meridian St
Lisle Ave near Cherri St
Little Falls St & Great Falls St
Maple Ave & Great Falls Rd
N West St & Grove Ave
N West St & Highland St
N. West St & Lincoln Ave
Parker Ave between S West St & Kent St
Patterson Rd at Paxton Rd
Rice St
Rogers Dr
S Maple Ave at Tinner Hill Rd
Seaton Ln & W Rosemary Ln
Shelby Ct
Stuart Dr
W George Mason Rd
W Greenway Blvd
W Jefferson St
Washington St & Great Falls Rd
Washington St & Jefferson St
West St & Allen Ave
Westmoreland St
Woodley Pl. & Deborah Dr.
You can check this page for daily work locations:
https://www.dom.com/storm-center/crew-work-locations.jsp
I’m assuming your house is all-electric…but that’s not the case for everyone. You can boil water using a gas range (use a match or lighter to light the burner) or using a propane or charcoal grill.