Wednesday Storm Recovery Update
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
July 4 Fireworks Viewing Areas and Road Closures
The region’s big Independence Day fireworks display on the National Mall is expected to kick off around 9:10 p.m. tonight
The display will last about 17 minutes, according to the National Park Service. For those who want to watch the fireworks from this side of the Potomac River, there are a number of places to watch the fireworks in and around Arlington tonight.
Among them:
- Long Bridge Park
- Air Force Memorial
- Iwo Jima Memorial (Marine Corps War Memorial)
- Rosslyn Gateway Park
- Gravelly Point
- Pentagon Reservation
- Key Bridge
Numerous road closures will be put in place to keep fireworks watchers safe. The planned closures include Memorial Bridge, Memorial Circle, and portions of Columbia Pike, eastbound Route 50, Washington Boulevard, and Long Bridge Drive. A full list is available on the Arlington County Police Department website.
Additionally, police are reminding fireworks-goers that grills, fireworks and alcoholic beverages are prohibited on county and federal park lands. Coolers and backpacks will be subject to search.
If you’re planning on going out to watch the fireworks, you might want to pack an umbrella. Storms are possible between 5:00 and 10:00 tonight, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA.
Send us your fireworks and Fourth of July celebration photos via our Flickr page. We’ll be publishing a number of Flickr photos tomorrow. Want to know how to take great fireworks photos? See the guide posted by We Love DC.
Dislosure: Arlington County is advertising its Fourth of July event at Long Bridge Park with ARLnow.com.
ACPD: Woman Raped on Four Mile Run Trail
(Update at 2:25 p.m.) A woman was raped on the side of one of the bike trails along Four Mile Run last night (Tuesday), according to police.
Investigators say the incident happened along the trail while it was still light outside – between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. The woman, 23, was jogging by trail mile marker 44, near Glencarlyn park, when a man, whom she had seen along the trail earlier, stopped her. He took out a 6-inch kitchen knife, dragged her into some tall vegetation, and took off her clothes and underwear, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
At one point the woman tried to run away but the attacker restrained her and threatened her with the knife, Sternbeck said. After the man was done sexually assaulting the victim, she ran home and drove herself to the hospital. Hospital staff called police at 8:49 p.m. In addition to the injuries from the sexual assault, the woman also sustained scratches to her wrists, Sternbeck said.
The man is described as a clean-shaven Hispanic male, between 5’5″ and 5’6″, 140 pounds, about 30 years of age. He had short black hair and brown eyes. The victim said he had a small head, a high-pitched voice, spoke limited English, and was wearing a green shirt that might have said George Mason University on it.
The victim has been an Arlington resident for 6 months, Sternbeck said.
Anyone with information about the suspect or the crime is encouraged to contact Detective Greg Sloan at 703-228-4198 or gsloan@arlingtonva.us.
