These are some of the news bulletins from our local weather channel from yesterday to this morning. All of this because of high winds!
Right now Reporter Wayne Covil is in Dinwiddie where four fires have broken out over a four mile stretch. Residents are being asked to evacuate and Wayne says the smoke is so thick he can hardly see to drive.
On the Chesterfield/Henrico line, tractor trailers have overturned at the Varina/Enon bridge. Reporter Tracy Sears was there - and we got pictures from State Police. She's also been tracking down storm damage and found burning trees laying on power lines, trees on cars and lanes of traffic re-routed to get around damage areas. Her report is coming up in our 6:30pm newscast.
Wayne Covil says that Dinwiddie brushfire is near Flatbush and Waltersmill Road. It is so widespread, it could be more than 1,000 acres. Smoke from the fire can be seen north of Colonial Heights. It's a rural area, so farmers are being told to let their livestock loose so they can get away from the flames. Flames are 30-40 feet in the air.
Most homes have been evacuated in this rural area of Dinwiddie...Also, Dominion Virginia Power reported more than 33,800 customers without electricity in central Virginia because of the high winds,and about 26,000 were without power in northern Virginia.
The Governor has declared a State of Emergency for 21 counties in Virginia.
10 fires throughout the county. The larges in Freshwater Creek, 400+ acre fire. It's caused mandatory evacuation route 703 spring road and route 700 johnson road - deputies are going door-to-door and asking people to leave their homes. They have two shelters opened up for citizens.
In addition, the high winds have taken down trees and power lines 4,000 people without electricity - shelter opened for those people as well.
As of 8:45pm, 23,895 Dominion Virginia Power customers are without power in the metro Richmond/Tri Cities area. That's according to the company's web site. Tonight's low is expected to be 16 degrees farenheit, that could be a problem.
And the latest news for today reported at 5:20 a.m.: Dominion Virginia power crews are keeping busy this morning. Currently, 10,149 people across our area are still without electricity this morning. That's down from 30,000 yesterday.
Yesterday, I thought for sure that one of my children were gong to blow away or that a tree was going to land on my house. The report states wind gusts up to 63 mph! It was unbelievable. We came home from church yesterday afternoon and the garage door wouldn't open. After hearing the neighbor's generator going, we determined the power was out. No biggie, I assumed. It was 60 degrees and we were planning on sandwiches for lunch. Plus I had a book I wanted to finish reading. Jay goes to get the details from the neighbor. The power had been out for about 20 minutes and he expected it to be off for a very long time since a transformed blew. The neighbor then left to buy gas and oil for the generator. No sooner had he left the street and the power was back on. Others in our area have not been so blessed.
My father in law has been without power since yesterday. We tried to get them to come here for the night but they were stubborn and said they'd tough it out. It was to get in the teens last night with a chill factor making it in the single digits. I prayed for them and waited all night for a phone call saying they were coming to get warm. They must have toughed it out. BRRR
Last night, I was tiding up before bed and my feet were freezing! After an hour or so, I decided to check the thermostat to see why I was so cold. Hello! Jay turned the heat off when we got home since the power was out and forgot to turn it back on. It was only 66 in here but I can't imagine how cold it is for those 10,000+ people in the area without power.
Obviously our house is toasty enough now because Emily is wearing her bathing suit! There is a reason though. The girls start their swiming lessons today- but not until this afternoon! I think she's a little bit excited!
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