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Virginia man killed by tree that crashed into home as violent storms sweep East Coast

Published

4 months ago

July 31, 2023

Thousands remain without power and roads are closed Sunday after a powerful storm moved through the D.C. area Saturday.

The cold front that moved in Saturday to offer relief from three days of extreme heat and humidity interacted with that heat and humidity to create powerful storms that left more than 200,000 customers without power in D.C., Maryland and Virginia at one point.

Saturday’s powerful storm caused more than 90,000 outages in Northern Virginia. While many have seen their power restored, there are still plenty left in the dark. News4’s Mauricio Casillas reports.

As of about 8 a.m. Sunday, Pepco was reporting more than 17,000 customers were still without power. Dominion was reporting almost 30,000 customers still in the dark. BGE reported more than 10,000, SMECO reported more than 11,000, and MonPower reported about 200.

A spokesperson for Dominion Energy says the goal is to have power restored to the majority of customers in Northern Virginia by 11 p.m. on Sunday, but did admit that there may be some customers who might have to wait until Monday due to the sheer number of calls they’ve had to respond.

Downed trees cause damage across the region

There were numerous reports of fallen trees and branches. Several roads remained blocked by trees as of Sunday morning.

Several trees have fallen on K Street NW between 4th and 5th streets. (Courtesy @KHosey23)

A Virginia man was killed when a tree crashed down on his home. The victim was 44-year-old Kenneth Allan Lee Jr. His wife says said he was showering in their Prince William County home when the tree fell at about 5:30 p.m on Saturday.

A tree fell on an apartment building in the 1200 block of Queen Street NE in D.C. Firefighters are checking for structural damage and evacuating residents. No injuries were reported.

Monday commuters may be affected by the damage. Many trees fell across the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the National Park Service said. It is closed from Spout Run Parkway to the Beltway as crews remove trees and will remain closed until an assessment is complete.

NPS also reported that numerous trees fell across the Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland.

⚠️⚠️Impact to drivers during Monday’s morning rush hour: Large portions of the northern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway are temporarily closed as crews work to remove fallen trees after yesterday’s storm.
— National Parks of Greater Washington, DC (@NPSNewsDC) July 31, 2023

In the 3200 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, the roof of a 31-unit apartment building was torn off during the storms. Residents were evacuated, and no one was injured.

After the storms whipped through, the National Zoo announced it will be closed Sunday for clean up.

A video captured by Storm Team4’s Ryan Miller shows an electrical fire caused by downed tree limbs and power lines on Foxhall Road and Garfield Street NW. In the video, the lines can be heard buzzing as the fire burns above the street.

Storm damage recovery

The D.C. area began storm cleanup on Sunday with clear weather. Temperatures were cooler with highs only reaching the mid-80s and a steady drop in humidity during the afternoon.

People carefully moved around a tree that fell across a lane in the 3800 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW. Chainsaws whirred while people cleared fallen branches.

Nearby Annunciation Catholic Church continued services without electricity. One of its members said it was divine intervention that protected the church from falling tree limbs.

“That huge limb off of the tree could have landed on that beautiful church. And, I come here early Sunday mornings, I go ahead and get the church ready for mass, we have no electricity, we couldn’t make coffee, so we had to get coffee from another firm,” church member Joe Fiorillo said. “And people showed up, about the same amount of people that normally come to eight o’clock mass were here today.”

The D.C. Office of Unified Communications tweeted they had received more than 125 reports of downed trees as of 10:45 p.m. on Saturday.

DC Fire and EMS tweeted that they responded to 317 storm-related calls between 5 and 8:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Extreme storms on the East Coast followed a national heatwave that has swept from west to east in July. On Thursday, 60% of the U.S., or 200 million people, were placed under a heat advisory or flood warning or watch, according to the National Weather Service.