Utility crews worked through the night and into Monday morning to fix widespread power outages after one of the most violent and destructive thunderstorms in years ripped across the region, knocking down trees and power lines, starting fires, damaging houses and causing at least two deaths. A 6-year-old boy, Eric Lawson of Sterling, was killed when struck by a falling section of a tree in Loudoun County about 3:15 p.m. Sunday. And a woman was killed when a tree fell on a minivan in College Park about 3:30 p.m.
Power was cut off to a WSSC plant that supplies 70 percent of the water for Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Authorities asked residents to curb consumption and refrain from any outdoor use. A spokeswoman for Pepco, the region's hardest-hit utility, said the company was borrowing crews from other utilities working in 12-hour shifts to free lines and poles pinned beneath toppled trees. It was too early to predict a return to normal service, spokeswoman Mary-Beth Hutchinson said Monday morning, but the company is expecting a "multi-day restoration."
"The volume of work is staggering," Hutchinson said.
Montgomery County closed most of its recreation centers, and the parks and recreation department canceled all summer camps, classes and other activities for Monday. Montgomery College's Rockville campus was also closed. As of 9:00 a.m., roughly 175,000 customers were without power in Montgomery County, about 53,000 were without power in Prince George's County, about 22,000 were without power in the District and about 9,600 were without power in Northern Virginia.
Traffic lights remained out at dozens of intersections around the region. Officials were telling motorists to treat dark intersections as four-way stops. SOURCE: Washington Post
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