The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

D.C. region awakens to downed trees, power outages and some flooding

At least one firefighter was hurt in Loudoun County during a call about a home struck by lightning

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Updated June 23, 2022 at 12:59 p.m. EDT|Published June 23, 2022 at 6:16 a.m. EDT
Crews clean up trees in Loudoun County after heavy rains Wednesday night. (Loudoun County Sheriff's Office)
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D.C.-area residents awoke Thursday to downed trees and wires, power outages and some flooding after heavy storms overnight.

The hardest-hit areas were in Northern Virginia, including Warrenton and Middleburg. In Fauquier County, public schools canceled summer school for the day because of power outages and storm damage.

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In Loudoun County, at least one firefighter was hurt while trying to rescue people after lightning struck a home in Aldie and caused a fire in the attic. Officials said that the firefighter had a minor injury and that no civilians were hurt.

Early Thursday morning, nearly 17,000 customers of Dominion Energy were without power in Northern Virginia — mostly in Fauquier, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Officials with Dominion did not give an estimate of when power would be fully restored but said crews were at work.

Amber Wilson told NBC4 she was sitting in the living room of her Warrenton home when “all of a sudden” she “heard a big old snap.”

“I wasn’t sure if it was lighting,” she said, “then it was in slow motion. The tree fell over and I remember saying, ‘please don’t hit my house.’ ” But it did, and she was stuck inside her home.

Brandie Schaeffer, the Warrenton town manager, said on NBC4 that crews were working to clean up the area. The town’s government offices were closed Thursday, she said, adding that the “priority is getting the main roads reopened and making sure power lines are fully secured.”

“It’s going to be a couple of days before we’re back to normal,” she said.

In Montgomery County, officials said several roads were closed because of downed trees and flooding.

On Thursday morning, some trees were down and blocking parts of the highway along the Beltway’s outer loop between Old Georgetown and River roads. Parts of Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda also had high water.

Along Beach Drive between Connecticut Avenue and Kensington Parkway, officials said, several vehicles were stranded Wednesday evening because of flooding. No one was seriously hurt.

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