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Dear Friend,
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the entire Northern Virginia region calling for a mixture of freezing rain and snow to hit the area on Tuesday morning. The watch is in effect from Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon.
We are continuing to report news of downed trees and power outages to VDOT and Dominion Power that have come in since early morning and would encourage you to use the system as well.
Here are some helpful tips for safe driving in icy conditions, reporting power outages and downed trees. Please share this newsletter and information with friends and/or follow us on Facebook as the situation develops.
Reporting Power Outages- Dominion Power
I invite you to continue to report downed power lines and power outages in your neighborhood to Dominion at 1-866-DOM-HELP or 1-866-366-4357.
Customers may also report outages on their website,www.dom.com.
Other Important Emergency Contact Information
2-1-1 Virginia is serving as the public inquiry number for Virginia residents.
5-1-1 is to be used for the latest in road conditions
#77 on a cell phone to report a traffic crash or traffic emergency
Only call 9-1-1 in a true emergency.
Fairfax County non emergency number: 703-691-2131
Loudoun County non emergency number: 703-777-1021
If a Tree Hits Your Home
- Get everyone safely out of your house. Go to a nearby shelter (another home or open public facility) to stay dry and out of the elements.
- Use your cell phone or go to a neighbor and call 9-1-1.
- Stay away from the home until public safety employees can access the home for structural stability and ensure utilities are controlled.
- Only after all of these safety measures have taken place should you call your insurance company.
For downed trees near roads or not into a home:
- Adjacent to Public Roads: Contact Virginia Department of Transportation at 1-800-FOR-ROAD, TTY 711.
- On County Parkland: Contact Fairfax County Park Authority at 703-324-8594, TTY 70-324-3988.
- Posing Hazard to Public Areas: Contact Fairfax County Urban Forestry at 703-324-1770, TTY 703-324-1877.
- On Private Property: Removal is the property owner's responsibility.
In addition, please follow these safety tips:
- Use a flashlight for emergency lighting. Never use candles.
- Unplug electrical equipment until a steady power supply returns.
- Practice proper generator and surface heater safety.
- Leave one light turned on so you know when power is restored.
- Eliminate unnecessary travel, especially by car. Traffic signals will stop working during an outage, creating traffic congestion. If you come upon a non-working traffic signal, treat each traffic light as a four-way stop, with the driver on the right having the right-of-way. Proceed with caution only when traffic permits and enter intersections only when it is safe to do so, using your turn signals to let other motorists know your intentions.
- If traffic lights are on flash, treat a flashing red as a stop (treat it like a stop sign). For flashing yellow, proceed with caution.
As always, during every storm, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] or call me at (703) 772-7168 if you are having issues regarding either plowing or storm outages.
I try to be accessible to my constituents in as many ways as possible. For more information, please visit my website, www.delegatecomstock.com, where you can read my blog for up-to-date information on Virginia, click to follow me on Facebook, (www.facebook.com/BarbaraComstockVA) or Twitter, ( www.twitter.com/BarbaraComstock).
Stay safe!
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