Thousands in the dark as storms blow through region

WASHINGTON — Many D.C.-area residents are recovering Friday after storms that swept through the region Thursday night left damage in their wake and caused thousands of power outages.

The most spectacular damage was at a high-rise on Route 1 near Greenbelt Road in Prince George’s County, as a large facade at The Enclave Apartments collapsed into some power poles.

Blake Wyatt was in a top-floor apartment when he “heard a huge scraping noise.”

“I thought it was going to come through our actual ceiling,” Wyatt says.

James Kiefer, who lives on the top floor as well, says he heard “a loud thud.”

“And then all the power went out, and we saw sparks and everything,” Kiefer says.

Prince George’s County Assistant Fire Chief Paul Gomez said that no one was hurt, and that “the structure of the building looks good; we believe we’re dealing primarily with a facade.”

Still, he said, it took hours to clean up.

And in Northwest D.C., high winds brought a tree down on top of a house on Arizona Avenue near American University.

The D.C. police say a woman and her daughter were in the house at the time, but no one was hurt.

Meanwhile, storms caused thousands of power outages in the area, but they are starting to decrease Friday morning.

There are more than 1,300 Pepco customers without power Friday morning. A majority of the outages are in Montgomery County.

There are about 726 Dominion Power customers without power in Northern Virginia — most of which are in Loudoun and Fairfax counties.

Potomac Edison is reporting just a handful of remaining outages.

The West Front of the U.S. Capitol, where the dress rehearsal for Friday’s Capitol Fourth was to be held, was evacuated because of the storms. Those outside the Capitol were sent to nearby garages, such as the one in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Delays were reported at Reagan National, Dulles and BWI.

Residents and vacationers are dealing with storm damage and power outages as Hurricane Arthur hits. Get the latest Arthur updates in the WTOP live blog.

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