6% of Dominion's Albemarle customers w/o power, more snow coming! (4:24pm Monday update)
4:24pm Monday update: Dominion has reduced its number of Albemarle powerless by nearly 1,000 since our last count to bring the total to just 2,355. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service points out that there's a "higher than normal" uncertainty in the weather models, so there's actually a chance this area will get little or no snow during tomorrow's event. What's more certain, however, are the aforementioned high winds.
4:10pm Monday update: More snow video. Nothing dramatically newsworthy here. Previous snow videos.
12:16pm Monday update: According to this nifty interactive map (which most unpowered households can't possibly see), 3,259 of Dominion's 39,262 Albemarle customers remain without power at this moment. That's 8 percent of the company's County electric buyers.
8:35am Monday update: The map doesn't lie. Snowfall of greater than five inches is possible in the Charlottesville area, says Kevin Witt, a meteorologist in the Sterling, Virginia weather station. Witt says we can expect sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in addition to the snow, which is expected to start mid-morning Tuesday. Unlike the last storm, fortunately, this one isn't expected to peak in strength until it's well off the coast. Still, Witt predicts "a travel mess" and possible further power outages, particularly with strong winds after the snow ends. Sigh...
6:43am Monday update: Well, just when you thought it was safe to get back to normalcy... another snow storm appears likely to dump 3-6 inches here on Tuesday afternoon or evening. Check out this National Weather Service map, which indicates that although the sweet spots–- shown in red–- lie north of us, we are clearly in the projected snow zone. (And many of us still don't have power.)
6:22pm Sunday updates: Albemarle County has already called it: NO SCHOOL TOMORROW. Also, emergency officials are asking drivers who are available on Monday to call 979-9912 to volunteer their services. (The 979-INFO line will close tonight at 9 o'clock and will reopen tomorrow at 6am for a period of time yet to be determined.)
6:10pm Sunday update: According to WINA 11,700 Dominion customers in our area are still out, and 9,000 Central Virginia customers, for a total about 20,000 customers locally in the dark. At the peak, there were 35,000 places without power. That's an enormous proportion of local customers and may constitute a record. This large an outage–- particularly when there are many small outages within subdivisions–- will not be cured overnight.
1:02pm Sunday update: Dominion Virginia Power says its crews are working overtime to get power back to the thousands without it. Meanwhile, County spokesperson Lee Catlin says that 16 people and three dogs spent at least some portion of last night at the emergency shelter at Monticello High School.
7:22am Sunday update: Looks like more bad news for the power-less, as the numbers of electricity-deprived household skyrocket.
While the heart of the storm steered north of us, as the AccuWeather depth totals indicate, we got the heavy snow and ice that brings limbs down on power lines.
For those of us without power, we're not alone. Dan Genest of Dominion Virginia Power delivered some staggering numbers Saturday night on WINA 1070 AM radio: that 15,000 of his company's customers and another 10,000 customers of Central Virginia Electric Cooperative are without power.
Already, we're hearing that with the deep snow and with some key roads–- such as Route 53, closed in portions–- that reconnecting all that power will take several days.
So whaddya do if your power's out? For starters, put your perishable food outside or in a cool space like a garage where nature can refrigerate it for you. Next, be extremely careful with your candles. It's times like this when horrific fires can occur because folks make mistakes with space heaters or candles.
How about cooking? If you don't have one of those Coleman camping stoves, you may still be in luck if you have a gas grill. Dust the snow off that bad boy, and cook up some of that old junk in your pantry before it fossilizes.
How about firewood for heat? At this point, many firewood providers may be snowbound or inaccessible. So if you have firewood to sell, or if you know of someone who does, you might wanna post their phone number below as a comment.
If your larder is really low, you may just wanna bolt from town to stay with folks in another place. The good news on that front is that many places to the south of us didn't get a lot of snow. Moreover, most of Charlottesville's primary roads are black asphalt and running smoothly–- even if you're running out of town. The bad news, however, may be your own driveway.
[youtube width="320"]xx5TyLEVRjU[/youtube]There are a lot of people really stuck right now, so if anyone else has some other tips that don't require 20/20 hindsight, feel free to offer them below in the comment zone. (The Hook has to conserve battery power, so we may not update this again until morning.)
Oh, one more thing. Half of the roof at 84 Lumber on Route 29 near Airport Road collapsed under the weight of the snow Saturday, according to County spokesperson Lee Catlin. Fortunately, nobody was there; so nobody was injured.
NBC29 has a nice little compendium of what's not working–- e.g. trains and transit–- right now.
****
Original post: As the snow gets heavier, Emergency Services reports a significant number of calls of downed trees, according to a Friday afternoon release from Albemarle County spokesperson Lee Catlin. Chainsaw-owing citizens willing to help out are asked to call the 979-INFO line. And the county advises that anyone venturing out should be packing a chainsaw.
some previous headlines:
"Trees down, chainsaws (and fuel) needed"
"Ginormous number of Dominion's Albemarle customers w/o power, more snow coming! (8:35am Monday update)"
"6% of Dominion's Albemarle customers without power
73 comments
The city has done a great job of clearing streets and even (where they had time) parking spaces this time. Most of the Downtown is passable and even parkable, two days after some major sleet and snow. That accomplishment needs to be recognized and saluted.
Mother Nature got OOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!
So, Mother Nature=penelope?
She really did, Austro, she really did.... That ho has been dealin ever since mid Dec and doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon. You know something, Austro, I used to really enjoy waking up to the brightness of snow coming through my window. I used to enjoy getting out of bed, Austro, putting on my Louis Vauitton bathrobe, sipping on my premium roast coffee I have imported from Columbia and watching the flakes fall softly on the V8-powered sled I have roped off in the corner of the parking lot. Austro, I used to crack a smile from behind the reflective tint of the double paned glass installed in my luxury condo, enjoying the serenity that snow brings while checking my perfectly cropped lettuce in the window's reflection.
**
But that all changed, Austro, when mother nature took it upon herself to piss in my premium roast coffee. Now, Austro, I hit the parking lot at the crack of dawn, hand-crafted snow shovel slung over my shoulder and 50 lb. bag of rock salt in my other hand, heavy duty Goretex hiking boots stomping through foot upon foot of accumulation looking to break OFFFFF at the next mound of snow that looks at me cross-eyed. That b- that has the audacity to call herself "Mother" better hope I don't catch her slipping come Spring and Summer. I expect compensation for this winter. War summertime skirts and the guys in Kani, war Will Smith's "Summertime" being blasted from the 2000 Watt Sound System I have equipped in my ride while cruising with the windows down in 80 degree weather at night, war cooking marinated chicken breasts and sippin on some sizzurp poolside, and war Foxfield 2010. Im out..... GOOODNIGHT NOWWWWWWWWW
...the AM and FM stations here suck. Not one of them makes it their business to repeat weather, some road updates, some emergency contact info.
Ms. Catlin was asked, by Joe Thomas, if there was a TV at the Monticello HS shelter, for football fans, and she said yes, 3. At least if they do need to be sheltered, they can also watch the game.
2 suggestions -
If your cell service is out but for some reason you have internet access and are reading this, download Skype to make your calls and pay the $10 minimum for PC to phone service. Alternately, go to one of the big box or convenience stores (if they're open) and get a Tracphone or other disposable.
If there's a store that sells electronics open in the area, also see if you can buy one of those power inverters (believe that's what they're called) that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter and has a regular electrical outlet on the other end. That way you can use your car's battery power to charge you laptop or other small devices you might need to communicate.
Power's been out here since about four this morning (east Rio area). Got wood in the fireplace, but since I'm running low am saving it for tonight.
Joe Thomas,asked Ms. Catlin, if there was a TV at the Monticello HS shelter, for football fans, and she said yes, 3. At least if they do need to be sheltered, they can also watch the game.
I hear ya Nancy- but your "sounds like a party" kind of negates the concerns that some have for those who are struggling. Just looking for priorities- now onto the next "onslaught" of the weather.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Charlottesville&state=....
I realize this is hindsight, but boy, do I wish I had a garage.
Any spare plows out there for hire; please leave contact info here.
Still quite a few people without power....What will they do with the superbowl coming?
Drove around some back roads and they run from good in the sun to terrible in the shade. Hundreds of those scrofulous pines down everywhere and that's what's messed with power. Northern areas of the county have much more snow than town and areas south...
more sno tuesday. sit tight. we're in for a bumpy ride.
Carla, when you live in the country, you can't depend on "professionals". You have to be a little more self reliant. I had 4 trees down in my driveway this afternoon. Should I just sit and wait till someone can move them for me or should I take my saw and move them.
Better to pull a tree with an actual chain instead of a tow strap. Trees can damage the strap and render them useless, or worse, dangerous if they were to break when being used to free a stuck vehicle.
I thought that this wasn't enough of a blizzard for Hawes.
There really is a need for a hotline able to have available all the power outages, phone outages,, traveling challenges; with a friendly, willing to listen presence, for those just needing a kind ear to lean on.
Believe me, if you call 977-INFO with a question, there is very little actual information available, other than to refer you to a web-site or try to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. Maybe the caller doesn't have a computer, why isn't the call responder providing the info for the caller ? Surely, our community can do better.
Ideally, the radio stations would be available and staffed during emergencies, such as this, to be a place to ask questions and share information with others, such as, trees down, blocked roads, calls for firewood or any other needs, and just plain sharing togetherness. Then the community truly could come together.
I believe it is at Monticello High School (434) 244-3100
also try- from an earlier The Hook post-
"Here is the snow emergency number if you need help getting to a shelter: (434) 970-3337"
can't help much more than that- starnded in Richmond, as our street has 16 inches on it and will not be plowed until late Sunday- maybe Monday
Wow richmond was supposed to get about 6 inches today. Sounds like hey ended with as much snow, even though we had it for 2 days. It was that sleet, which is what is killing the roofs.
Caesonia- I live in Albemarle- drove home to shovel the driveway (wife in hospital in Richmond) and had to turn around as the street was not plowed and is a tertiary road- won't be done until later today or Monday.
Richmond was mostly slushy streets- I-64 was one lane each way- trees down east and west bound Sat morning. Only a few nuts like me were out there.
Feel free to send me updates directly [email protected] or as a comment to this story.--hawes spencer, journalist for the hook
power's back on here after a day plus. very happy about that. ventured into the city and county roads are actually better. do what?
Okay, that stunk: no power for more than 24 hours.
More safety tips from an expert: even Pam Peeke, author of " Could You Survive" is heading to a hotel--
Like everyone else in the D.C. area, Pam Peeke is focused on riding out Snowmageddon. Speaking to me by cell phone from her frigid, power-lacking home in Bethesda, Peeke, a health and fitness expert, author of Fit to Live and host of Discovery health TV's series Could You Survive?, was headed out to a hotel, but before she went she shared some tips for staying safe and healthy in these cold, snowy conditions.
* In the house: Bundle up, wear layer upon layer, and don't forget gloves and extra socks. Do not set up an outdoor grill inside; area hospitals are already treating people for carbon monoxide poisoning, which can quickly become deadly. If you're using a fireplace, make sure the flue is fully open and the screen fully closed -- and make sure someone is tending the fire at all times. Ditto for candles; if you're using them for light or to warm your hands, be sure to keep an eye on them always.
* If you need to get out: Unless you are quite physically fit, leave the shoveling to others. Keep an eye out for young, healthy people who might be willing to shovel your driveway and sidewalk. Even if you are fit, don't take the snow lightly. Try to wait until the sun is out and high in the sky so it's a bit warmer when you work. Bend from the knees, not your back, to prevent back injury, and be sure not to overload your shovel; take it slow and easy. Avoid getting wet, especially if you don't have a way to heat up when you get back indoors. Being damp increases your odds of dangerous hypothermia.
* Watch your step: If all you have are what Peeke calls "silly boots" -- those that lack adequate tread and aren't waterproof -- stay inside. To avoid slipping, make yourself walk very slowly, and whenever possible step on snow, not shiny patches of ice. Most of all, don't fool yourself: this snow is serious business, Peeke says, and "some people are fooled into thinking they can do things they can't." This isn't the time to embark on a long walk for the sake of exercise, she says.
* Mind your heart: The cold causes blood vessels and bronchial tubes to constrict, placing extra stress on your heart, making you more vulnerable to angina (chest pain caused by the coronary arteries' inability to deliver appropriate oxygen to your muscles -- including your heart muscle). Worse yet: Myocardial infarction may occur if the heart is damaged and unable to pump at full volume. The severe pain and shortness of breath you'll experience signal an emergency. It's simply not worth taking a risk, Peeke says, and until tertiary roads are cleared, ambulances and other emergency vehicles might have trouble getting to you.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/#schools2
Saints Rule
Does anyone else find it comical that the author of "Could You Survive" is headed to a hotel, after her power went out ? Not sure that this is a ringing endorsement of her book.
Time to call in National Guard and hey can supply generators and your firehalls should have some spare ones too .. The Troops need to get in so people are not stranded in emergency.. women in Labor.. Elderly needing medical those on oxygen.. ect... people needing heat.. cousins out near Zions crossroads without power and garge roof caved in.. and the fire companies say they have shelter..however their snowed in way back off main road.. no way of getting out. NO power.. no heat.. except kerosene heater.. Not sure about those up at the main house.. But I think it is time the governor calls in National Guard.Utlitiliy companies can't even get to problem spots safely. Many are in need of help and not able to tell anyone.. I hope they get equpipment in there so it is safe for Utlities personel can get to problem spots safely.. This next blast may send many under beyond help, Call your governor and insist of Guards help.. Generators.. equipment. Time to take care of our own.Haven't heard drom relatives along 29 yet.. Hoping hey are safe and warm.. and everyine else.
Listened to the police scanner this afternoon and I was amazed how many people are without their medications. Do our emergency personnel have the means to cope with this many stranded people; without power and necessary meds ? It's fine to say plan ahead, but we are encouraging people to age in place, and that means many older citizens need help even under normal circumstances, and may be in serious jeopardy in a situation such as this, especially if they are without power and don't drive.
Who dat???
Nancy,
Regarding shoveling - I'm 45 with a pretty generous spare tire and don't exercise regularly, but I found shoveling was no problem if I counted eight shovelfuls, rest for thirty seconds, eight shovelfuls, rest for thirty seconds, etc. Unlike last month's shoveling that left me winded and exhausted the rest of the day, I was able to shovel myself out quicker than I thought I would and was ready to go downtown clubbing that night!
I just spoke with power crews parked on the road on which I live - Bleak House Road - 4 miles southwest of Earlysville Fire Department. They told me we would have our electricity back before night fall. Yeah! We're in our 66th hour without electricity right now. I'm sure others have it worse.
Cheers!
G.Grant-Earlysville
P.S. I'm using Internet service at a neighbor's house on Bleak House Road that got power restored earlier this morning (opposite side of the road). Go figure.
I think it is a needed community service, for the station management, to preempt regular programing during emergencies such as this.
And even when they do, the signal reductions at night connected with being in the National Radio Quiet Zone (http://www.gb.nrao.edu/nrqz/) mean that in some western & northern parts of Albemarle County, when you tune in to WINA their signal is so weak that you're as likely to pick up a stronger station from Indianapolis or somewhere... Seems like there should be an exemption from the signal reduction rules in the case of emergencies.
Kudos to The Hook for being ever-present, as far as I can tell, from before, during, and after storms. Hawes, you have become de facto local radio for this area. Thanks. How do you do it? Describe your technology a bit and how you report when you lose power.
As for local radio, I used to work for WINA as a news reporter (1987-1993). We had a five person news staff then, very little syndicated programming, and an owner who was TOTALLY committed to serving the public, especially in the public's hours of need. WINA now has a three person news staff and are at the mercy of their owners and program directors and available news slots. With so many radio stations nowadays being run by computers, the automation systems won't even let the news people break in at times or only allow 90 seconds for a news update.
Interestingly to me, WINA did a great job on Friday, but not so well on Saturday and Sunday. WCHV with Joe Thomas did a great job on Saturday, in my opinion, but not so good other times. If our local radio stations would get it through their heads to just open up their phone lines during such storm chaos and invite callers to describe their circumstances from all points of the compass, those of us with battery-powered radios would hang in there for the information being provided by our fellow Central Virginians. We'd also hear the commercials, and I know I try to buy products and services that keep information flowing to me when I need it. (That goes for newspapers, too, Hawes.)
Just before the UVA men's basketball game Saturday noon, WINA was replaying taped interviews with power company reps from the night before. That does no one any good when we are dealing with power and phone and heat issues in real time. On Sunday afternoon, WCHV was running the same taped news update at 2, 3, and 4 p.m. that actually had County spokeswoman Lee Catlin referencing "this morning!" As listeners with storm issues and in need of real time LIVE updates, it is offensive that our PUBLIC airwaves are filled with outdated, taped information rather than live callers who often know more than the few reporters do who are stuck back in radio station studios.
If our local radio stations can't staff their stations in the public's time of need and stay with the thousands of us who need OUR AIRWAVES in such times, then they need to turn their Federal Communications Commission licenses over to new ownership. By the way, this also goes for the many FM music stations in our area who continue with their music and rarely provide more than token news service in such times as we've experienced since Friday.
Again, Hawes, thanks for being our constant news source in such times. The local radio stations should pay you for your updates or you should figure out a way to buy one of our local radio stations. If you decide to purchase one, let me know; I've got some money and some experience.
G.Grant-Earlysville
We just put up a couple of short updates.--hawes spencer
Went to Cville from the outer counties today. Wow, what a mess! Was eating at a restaurant and could not see out the windows since they were blocked with snow. Apparently you all didn't get the high winds to take the snow off the trees, hence the massive power outages. No sidewalks available, lots of people walking/biking in heavy traffic. Whoever said this storm was no big deal has not been out to see the aftermath. You all are "this close" to having cheesy pop stars sing fund raising songs for your relief.
Soft and brainless- most are in cartoonland. Can't even think for themselves.
How about this- when the the Federal Government can't get to work, then perhaps there are too many Federal workers- 230,000 of them in DC alone- way out of line. Which ones are non=essential today- perhaps ALL OF THEM!
Give 'em all a shovel and make them get to work or dock their pay.
$100MM per day. Hey, that is less than when they are at work- hey stay home!!!
If you are feeling stressed or anxious, don't hesitate to call someone. Hopefully, you know someone with empathy and patience, but if one of these stellar examples of humanity are not available, call anyone-- and, don't feel embarrassed; we all feel anxious in times like this, when we are taken out of our normal routines, at least many of us do.
This reminds me of the blizzard of '78 in New England where I grew up. I showed my wife some of the archived pictures and it was a mess. The winter here has been similar to what I left behind. Folks here are much nicer though, more willing to help.
If you're staying warm by the fire, and need to periodically clean out the ashes, please don't set them on a wooden porch or other burnable surface, even if they look cold. Several fires in our neighborhood have started in just this manner.
And previous report of high winds this evening has not materialized, instead AccuWeather is reporting:
Low: 13°F
Cold with the temperature approaching the record low of 10 set in 1962 with clearing
Winds: NNW at 1mph
Wind Gusts: 5 mph
Dominion was out near my early first thing this morning doing work in various places. Props to them. Bigger props to VDOT. I was checking the roads last night in my section and VDOT just got OFF last night. Plows were everywhere, and by the conditions of the roads in this area you would think it snowed last weekend. Nice rebound VDOT
Bufalo Girl.. Spot on.. Good questions ,, aand then the handicapped.. Time to calll in the troops.. thats what they are for.. Taaking care of those here at home.. all the governor aaaand coucils to get it started.. Utlity people cannot safely get to troubled spots. We don't need anymore unnecessary loss of life. Troops are trained for situations as these.
OK- "warned" again- here is the NOAA forecast for Charlottesville-
Take precautions, prepare (again) and good luck........
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Charlottesville&state=...
Flake- hence, The Hook..............
Aargh, the areas around East Rio Road have a power outage again. Although I know it's far worse to be out of power continuously, after closing down the road yesterday so Dominion Power could affect repairs I thought we were good to go. Maybe a power worker lives in Pen Park and just threw some sort of temporary patch so he could watch the Super Bowl in his house ...
OK, I have to throw out some mad props to Joe Thomas at WCHV. After shooting him an email from work about the above issue on E. Rio Road, he just emailed me back:
" Dominion says that it is because of switch other out areas back onto grid. Won't be too long, though."
He didn't have to do that, that was cool to respond.
quote: "The city has done a great job of clearing streets..."
They sure did. Now the idiots and morons out here are parking in the cleared portion of the traveled roadways, thereby reducing it back to a single lane roadway and causing traffic problems.
The city police should tow every idiot and moron who parks in the regularly traveled portion of the roadway.
Joe also had great storm updates on 12:60AM radio this morning, as did WINA 10:70AM until they went off the air around 8am. I think it is a needed community service, for the station management, to preempt regular programing during emergencies such as this. Besides being without power, many are now also without phone service.
I was at one of the local retirements homes yesterday; they lost phone service Sat. evening and are still out. For many of these folks, and their families who need to check on them, phone service is a necessity and to be without it a real hardship. I was also surprised to learn, that when the power went out, there were no back-up generators, but luckily it was restored within several hours.
The city was working on my street with a huge piece of equipment around midnight last night. It had been scraped late Saturday, but there was still a thick layer of slush and ice. I just knew my car would be blocked in again with chunks of ice. As I was getting to sleep, hearing the scraper working just down the street, I thought, well they have to do what they have to do. Especially since more snow is expected tomorrow. When I got up and looked out my living room window, I was so glad to see I wouldn't have to dig out my car again before going to work. It looked liked the scraper driver had taken care not to pile up snow in areas that would interfere with already cleared on street parking spaces and driveways. Thank you whoever you are for the effort!
Well said Gary, I totally agree--this community owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Hook and Hawes Spencer, for his tireless coverage of all these major storms. And allowing us to laugh, at his own personal expense, as he, and all of us, are doing our best to figure out how to cope with this historic amount of snowfall--love those videos !
After the daffodils bloom, and we've dug out of the snow, I'd like to see a community meeting to discuss all the great suggestions people have made, as comments to these storm articles; and to see if next year we can't do better, as a community, to care for our citizens. You never know, is this is a trend or an anomaly ?
Creosote, you are so correct. I actually asked WINA over the weekend, while I was doing some volunteer reporting for them, if they could change their directional pattern so we could continue to hear their night time updates. Apparently, the answer must have been NO. You're right, WINA's signal pattern has to protect a more powerful station in Indiana at night. I believe this goes back to pre-World War II when the FCC wanted to have a continuum of "national" stations who could blanket the entire country in case of an emergency. In today's age of the Internet, cell phones, and 24/7 news, this old "protection" system is outdated, to my way of thinking. No one in Charlottesville is buying products advertised in Fort Wayne, IN anyway!
Rob Schilling is on WINA right now, why wouldn't he be smart enough to preempt his scheduled guest and let people call in ?
The temperatures sure are playing games out there today!
When I left home about 8:30 a.m. it was 8 degrees.
About 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. I noticed it was 38 degrees.
Now, 12:50 p.m., it's back down to 31 degrees.
Mother Nature trying to keep the roadways cold so our Tuesday snow will stick easier? :)
Looks like premium roasted coffee ain't the only
thing you're having imported from Columbia! :)
I enjoy the video updates . I also like peach muffin's :) .
Dakota
Sledding fail.
Way to go Hawes: coleman stoves, firewood, warm clothing, and true grit; we need more Americans with that can do spirit--we're raising a generation of pansies--too much caution can be a bad thing. If our country has a true disaster, watch out ! Let this be a lesson --go out and live in the woods for a few days and teach yourself basic survival skills, you just might need them sooner than you think. We've gotten soft as a nation and it will come back to bite us.
Left home without checking for fuel in the chainsaw? What a complete amateur. Perhaps staying would be more helpful to the professionals trying to get our community back into shape.
Does anyone have power now ? I
"Chainsaw-owing citizens"? I'm not sure. I think I owe a power drill, but not a clue about the chainsaw.
I wish I could do something to help!!!...But I can't. I'm in the deep South.
There are still hotels rooms available in town, if you don't feel like camping with a friend. I just called CourtYard Marriott on Hillsdale Dr. and they have a king room for $99. As mentioned above the roads in the city are remarkably clear. Some taxis, with 4WD, are operational, if you need a ride to get there.
I just called the 979-INFO number and there is no one answering. I also tried to get on the albemarle web-site and couldn't. Does anyone know where the free emergency shelter is located ?
Roads, power, here are some more updates, and suggestions, to add to those above. I heard these updates on the Joe Thomas show 12:60AM radio, in the 8 o'clock hour.
Roads: Lee Catlin reported:
VDOT resources are concentrated in N.VA which was hit harder. Clearing Albemarle and area secondaries will " be awhile". They will attempt to make one pass today, but are concentrating on primaries and interstates.
Power: Dan Genest, Dominion Va. Electric said, now, that it's stopped snowing, they can get to the 270 current locations without power (12,275 customers); mostly concentrated in the City limits of Charlottesville, 3,000 Pen Park and Rio Road area, and 2,000 in other parts of the city, 600 north of Ivy , 350 Earlysville.
Today, they will know better what's needed ( some power poles need to be replaced) and make some progress, but will not finish. By late afternoon a more accurate time line for restoration will be available on their web-site
Area wide, still about 20,000 customers without power, including Central Va Electric.
Heat: Ms. Catlin continues to emphasize the danger of fires for those without heat from: unattended candles, and heating with devices brought inside, grills ( this caused a problem last night)--that should stay outside. She made a request to shovel around fire hydrants.
Suggestions:
Please leave your contact info here if you have a plow, will shovel, or sell firewood. There are many people in desperate need of all these services.
Secondary roads, that are VDOT dependent for plowing, may be in tough shape for awhile, so hiring a private contractor for your neighborhood may be prudent.
If you are feeling uncomfortably cold, may be time to head to a shelter. Shelters will stay open, says Lee Catlin, as long as needed. The 979-INFO line is available today.
Football fans YES the shelters do have TV and are manned by the Red Cross with cots and food for all. Sounds like a party !
AT&T cell service is down in downtown Cville. Heard from another person in Crozet who is experiencing the same. Logged into my account and saw this message from AT&T wireless:
02/07/10, 09:34 AM, AT&T
Important Service Message: Due to a network service issue, some customers in your area are having difficulty making or receiving calls. Our technicians are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Just a quick question Nancy.........is the shelter(s) to be a gathering place for football fans to see a game, or to shelter them from the elements?
Anyone know about the secondary roads in Greene County?
I have since heard that any secondary roads in the region plowed by VDOT will take time to get too because of the resources needed in Northern Va.
Actually, I was hoping the upbeat description might encourage some not to stay in their homes, if they have no power tonight, and be gladdened that there is a cheery, safe place to go --with food, a TV and companionship.
Don't forget to clean off your outside heating/ac unit.
Why can't people just walk to open establishments for food? Maybe the problem is locals can't walk further than the distance from their front door to their car door.
Ellie Mae - thanks for the outside vent unit reminder, I'll do that immediately when I get back home. First-time homeowner as of last summer, still getting used to a lot of this sort of thing.
Outskirts Guy- they might lose their appetite...............