The Cook Advisory: An Update After the Storm

The Braddock Office is open today after having been out of power over the weekend. Our telephone connections are still spotty, so email may be the best way to reach us today. All of us on the Braddock team send out our condolences to those who have lost their lives or suffered injuries from the storm, including two fatalities in the Braddock District. You and your families are in our thoughts and prayers. For those with property damage or who have been without power, we appreciate your concerns. Supervisor Cook was without power all weekend and his house suffered minor damage, but he has viewed significant damage to homes across the district. All of us on the Braddock team are here to help in whatever way we can.

Dominion Power has had more than 4,200 employees from over 13 states working 16 hour shifts, 24 hours a day since Friday's storm to restore power to our area. As of Monday, July 2 they have restored power to approximately 600,000 customers and expect to have 80-85 percent restored by Tuesday night; 90-95 percent by Thursday night; and nearly all remaining service restored by Saturday.

Unfortunately, the number of outages known as of Monday morning have been climbing rather than declining. As crews complete large restoration jobs they discover a lot of small jobs that add to the outage numbers. Additionally, as they complete large jobs they may have to turn off power temporarily to others which pushes the numbers back up again. 

Storm restoration information is available at https://www.dom.com/storm-center/index.jsp This information is updated every day at 10:00 a.m. and lists the expected areas that Dominion crews will be working on restoring power to during that day. Please stay away from downed lines and anything touching them - assume they are energized, and report them by calling 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357) - and please stay away from areas where linemen are at work. 

You may also check the interactive outage map online at http://outagemap.dom.com/DomComFlexOutageViewer/index.htm 

Specifically in and around the Braddock District, crews will be working on these areas:
Braddock Rd & Powell Dr
Fair Lakes Pkw and Fair Crest Ct
Fairfax Station Rd and Smoke Rise Lane
Olde Forge Ct
Piney Branch Rd and Lee Hwy
Random Hills Rd
Dunleigh Dr & Braddock Rd 
Tara Dr 
Twinbrook Rd and Braddock Rd
Twinbrook Rd mear Braddock Rd

Future Forecast:
A number of factors can affect Dominion's work progress this week including our upcoming weather which includes the possibility of additional storms. The weather forecast for this week is:

Monday: Mix of clouds and sun, 30 percent chance of afternoon and evening showers and storms. Highs in the low- to mid-90s
Monday Night: Thunderstorms early. Lows in the upper 60s to low 70s
Tuesday: Partly cloudy, hot and humid. Storms possible in afternoon (30 percent chance). Low 90s
Wednesday: (July 4): Partly sunny and humid with a 40 percent chance of storms. Highs in the mid 90s
Thursday: Continued hot and humid. Isolated afternoon storms. Highs in the mid 90s
Friday: Partly sunny and hot, mid 90s

Emergency Information:
9-1-1 emergency services has been almost completely restored to normal. Please only call 9-1-1 in an emergency and not for power outage reports. Additionally you may call 703-691-7561 or 703-691-3680. Those numbers may be used for either emergency or non-emergency calls

Emergency information is available on Fairfax County's Web site (www.fairfaxcounty.gov),
Emergency Information Blog (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/emergency/blog),   
Facebook (www.facebook.com/fairfaxcounty),
Twitter (www.twitter.com/fairfaxcounty),
the Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cean or by calling the Fairfax County Emergency Information Hotline at 703-817-7771, TTY 711*.

Cooling Centers and Human Service Assistance 
Residents who remain without power in their own homes should consider visiting these public places to seek relief from the heat. Libraries, malls, recreation centers and other places that have power are good choices. Please call your local library branch for hours of operation today.

Residents who need urgent human services assistance should call 703-222-0880, TTY 711, which provides information, referral, linkage, and advocacy to public and private human services available to Fairfax County residents through partnerships with community-based organizations and non-profits. Residents who know individuals needing special attention are encouraged to take a few minutes to check in on them to ensure their well-being.

Fairfax Connector bus service is operating per its normal schedule. Check the Connector Web page at www.fairfaxconnector.com for the current operating status.

For a list of heat safety tips as temperatures are expected to stay high this week:
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/OEP/ExtremeHeat/index.htm

For a list of Fairfax County Public School closures you may go to http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/OEP/ExtremeHeat/index.htm

Debris Removal 
The storm may have left a trail of debris on your property. Here's some information about debris removal to help you get rid of those materials. Many may also have downed trees in and around their yards. Find out more about tree removal and who to contact if you need help.

The county's two disposal facilities - the I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Solid Waste Complex - are open for residents to dispose of yard debris. Both locations are open on their regular schedules for residential trash and recycling:

• I-66 Transfer Station
  4618 West Ox Road, FairfaxMonday-Saturday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
• I-95 Solid Waste Complex
  9850 Furnace Road, Lorton
  Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  Saturday-Sunday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Special July 4 schedule:

• I-66 Transfer Station
  9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for deliveries from residents only
  9 a.m. to 6 p.m. brush accepted from commercial haulers
  NO TRASH from commercial haulers
• I-95 Solid Waste Complex
  7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for deliveries from residents only
  7 a.m. to 6 p.m. brush accepted from commercial haulers
  Trash from commercial haulers accepted from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Both facilities only accept tree branches that are 20 inches or less in diameter. There is a minimum $5 fee for residents to dispose of yard waste and brush at either of the two disposal facilities. Payment may be made by cash, Visa or MasterCard.

Residents should contact their trash collection company to get instructions about how to dispose of storm-related debris.

If your trash is collected by the county, please call to schedule a brush pickup.  Due to the amount of storm-related damage, pickups may be delayed.