High Winds Cause Power Outages Across Region

High winds have blown into the Washington area, snapping trees and causing power outages for thousands of residents in homes across the District, Maryland and Virginia.

Pepco officials said nearly 4,000 residents were without power, Alleghany Power officials said about 3,500 residents, primarily in Western Maryland, didn't have electricity, and Dominion officials said about 500 customers in Virginia were in the dark.

"The trees are swaying back and forth and are hitting the power lines," said Pepco spokesman Clay Anderson, adding that the front blew into the Washington area from the west about 10:30 a.m. "It is a sign of fall when these fronts come through."

Anderson said because the winds were between 30 and 35 mph, Pepco crews couldn't even begin to make repairs on the power lines that have affected 2,300 homes in Montgomery County, 1,500 in Prince George's and 21 in the District.

"The winds hamper our crews to get up in our bucket trucks to make repairs because 40 miles per hour is our threshold," Anderson said. "We are watching the weather like everyone else."

Anderson said the winds came from the west and gained speed as they came across the Appalachian Mountain range.

A spokesman for Dominion Power said 549 homes out of more than 2 million were without power across the state. Of those, 338 residences were in Northern Virginia.

Todd Meyers, a spokesman for Alleghany Power, said that 3,300 customers had lost power across Maryland and that, of that number, most, about 2,400, were in the Fredrick area. Only about 23 customers in Montgomery County have been affected.

Meyers said despite the strong winds, Alleghany crews were out trying to restore power. "We have a lot wind up there, we have lot of trees, but we are out there trying to restore power regardless of the winds."