Alexandria — As of Monday morning, July 2, power returned to 11,000 locations in Alexandria, leaving 23,000 without electricity.
City officials could not put a number to the amount of traffic lights without power, but assured that progress was being made. However, there were fewer road closings on Sunday than Monday, as city crews were closing streets to pick up debris.
Four cooling stations opened as of Saturday morning. By Sunday afternoon, all public pools, recreation centers, and libraries were open except for Flora Krause Casey Health Center, Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library and Patrick Henry Recreation Center.
Members of the city’s health, police, and fire departments stationed themselves at nursing homes and locations with large numbers of residents to ensure aid. Air-conditioned DASH buses were driven to these locations to provide relief from the heat.
Many fallen trees and limbs have caused an unrecorded amount of property damage. In one example, on Friday night, the crown of a city street tree in front of Dino Drudi's house broke off and landed on his roof. Another branch broke off and landed on his porch roof with its base blocking the sidewalk. Both appear to have missed the electrical wires, but the latter is hanging on what appears to be the cable TV wire.
When Drudi saw the tree fall on his house, he contacted the city. "Your city street tree's treetop fell on my house in yesterday evening's storm," Drudi said via email, "would you please be so kind as to come by at your earliest opportunity and take it off?"
No serious injuries caused by the weekend's storm were reported in Alexandria.