Superstorm Sandy — nee Hurricane Sandy — brought heavy rain and fierce winds to Arlington Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
Arlington was “spared the worst of the storm’s impact,” according to county officials, but Sandy and her 60 mph wind gusts knocked down dozens of trees across the county, many of which fell onto roadways and into houses.
Update at 7:25 p.m. — The number of Dominion customers without power in Arlington is up to 16,828.
(Updated at 6:10 p.m.) More than 5,800 Dominion customers are without power in Arlington as of 6:05 p.m. as the strongest winds from Hurricane Sandy have started to arrive in the area.
Arlington County is urging residents to stay put until the heavy rain and wind of Hurricane Sandy blows through the area over the next day or so.
“Arlington emergency managers urge everyone to stay where you are,” the county said in a media alert this morning. “High winds and the danger of falling trees will present an extremely unsafe environment. Get yourself to a safe place and stay there.”
Update at 6:10 p.m. — Glebe Road has reopened, according to scanner traffic.
Update at 4:05 p.m. — Crews are hoping to have Glebe Road clear and reopened by 6:00 p.m., we’re told.
As of 2:00 this (Friday) afternoon, 48 Dominion customers were without power. The company says that it expects all known power outages in the area to be restored by later tonight. According to Arlington officials, all county traffic signals are now functioning. Some 96 traffic signals were knocked out by Friday’s storms, largely due to power outages.
In a press release, the county noted that one of Arlington’s most historic trees was a victim of the storms. The Revolutionary War-era Post Oak (pictured), in the Westover area, is set to be cut down due to wind damage.
Neighborhood Thanks Power Crews — A few special guests stopped by the Waycroft-Woodlawn Fourth of July picnic yesterday (see photo, above). The neighborhood invited two hard-working power crews from Ontario, Canada to have a quick lunch with them. “The community clapped and cheered to say thanks,” writes resident Jim Pebley. “Was a nice moment after a long hot couple days.”
Storm Damage at Arlington National Cemetery — Arlington National Cemetery is reporting some significant damage in the wake of last Friday’s storms. The cemetery lost three of its oldest trees, which are all between 225 and 240 years old. In all, 8 large trees were lost and 17 were damaged to the point where they need to be removed. Falling trees also damaged some headstones. The cemetery says the damage is similar to that suffered during Hurricane Irene. The cemetery “continues to assess the extent of the damage and has started on the restoration.” [Arlington National Cemetery]
A large tree came crashing through the roof of a house in the Donaldson Run neighborhood this morning.
Firefighters and a building inspector responded this morning after a call from a neighbor. The badly-damaged house was condemned, but no injuries were reported. What exactly caused the tree to fall is unclear — today’s weather has been relatively calm.
Washington Boulevard was closed between George Mason Drive and N. Harrison Street, near Virginia Hospital Center, due to a large tree that fell onto the roadway overnight, taking power lines down with it. Authorities have warned that the closure could last “well into the day.”
In the North Rosslyn area, a tree fell across N. Scott Street at the intersection with Lee Highway. The road is closed while crews work to clear the debris, authorities said.
Historic ‘Arlington Oak’ Toppled — A historic tree in Arlington National Cemetery is now firewood thanks to Hurricane Irene. The cemetery revealed last night that the ‘Arlington Oak’ at the Kennedy gravesite had been knocked down by the storm’s high winds and steady rains. “That tree had a significant legacy here,” said a cemetery official. [CBS News]
Firefighters Collecting for MDA — Arlington’s firefighters are out “filling the boot” at busy intersections to collect money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. A medic crew was out at the intersection of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike last night, and the crew from Engine 109 was spotted out in the Shirlington area, among others. [Shirlington Village Blog]
The large, rotted tree limb, felled by the wind and rain of Hurricane Irene, hit the back of the amphitheater building and damaged the concrete brick parapet wall and capping. Some wiring also appeared to be damaged.
The damage is not enough to close the amphitheater for next weekend’s round of performances — the last of the summer — according to county spokeswoman Mary Curtius. She said that the power lines to the building are intact, but will be checked by an electrician. (Update at 2:05 p.m. — We’re now hearing that the power connection to the building may, in fact, have been damaged.)
(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) Tropical storm-force winds from Hurricane Irene, combined with a steady, soaking rain, brought down at least 75 trees throughout Arlington last night, completely or partially blocking at least 35 streets, authorities said.
The falling trees blocked main roads, like Columbia Pike and westbound I-66, and knocked out power to various parts of the county. The 100 block of N. Liberty Street, Rock Spring Road and N. Wakefield Street, N. Quantico and N. 18th Street and N. Edison and Little Falls Road all remain blocked this afternoon, according to authorities and residents. County crews with chainsaws are helping to remove fallen trees and tree limbs from the roadway.
The agency says it is calling in additional support personnel, who will be “on duty throughout the weekend to respond to any situations that may arise.”
WMATA is supplying chain saws to Metro drivers, “for use in the event of downed trees.” Metrobuses and MetroAccess vehicles may be detoured around fallen trees and flooded areas, as necessary. Metro is also checking all drainage pumps and clearing out debris from drainage areas near Metro stations.
