Many in Bristow and Nokesville were still without power on Saturday evening, following a tornado-like windstorm, or derecho, which ripped through the region late Friday night to early Saturday morning.
Governor Bob McDonnell called a State of Emergency on June 30, noting that this was the worst non-hurricane related storm ever to hit Virginia. Six were left dead from the storm and millions more were without power in the Commonwealth.
Due to 100 degree temperatures, Bristow and Nokesville residents who did experience power outages were left without much choice but to vacate their homes, unless they were able to secure generators.
In the Dunbarton section of Braemar, the power came back on around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, even though the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) estimated it might not be able to restore their power until July 2.
Charles Avernathy had already moved his family into a hotel for the night. He had stopped back at his home around 6:50 p.m. to retrieve some necessary items, when his neighbors informed him that power had been restored.
Avernathy said while he believes he would have been fine at home, he was most worried about his puppy.
Chris Russel was just about to move her parents over to her house for the night, when the power returned to their neighborhood.
“We unloaded their refrigerator, and are going to the other side of Braemar,” she said, right before hearing the news.
Russel said many Dunbarton residents had gotten hotel rooms or were staying with friends. Others were invited to stay at the Braemar Clubhouse, which was located on the side of the community that had power.
Ed Norvell and Mary Clark were fortunate enough to have a generator, which they used under normal circumstances to power their koi pond.
“We were more worried about our fish,” Clark said.
The couple originally tried to get a room at the Hampton Inn in Gainesville, but found it was booked with others experiencing power outages and concert-goers attending the Iron Maiden concert at Jiffy Lube Live. The hotel chain also did not accept dogs.
After some difficulty finding a place for them and their pet, they decided to hook up the generator and sleep in a guest room in the basement.
However, Clark was also concerned about her elderly mother, who she took in from the Mary Wood Senior Center in Manassas.
According to Clark, there were many elderly people outside in the heat without transportation to get to Battlefield High School, which was a designated State of Emergency shelter for Western Prince William and Manassas residents.
At the time of publication, the Burwell Road section of Nokesville has yet to regain power. However at 7:30 p.m. a uti-
lities crew was on site on the north side of Burwell addressing the problem of a downed tree.
On the south side of Burwell, just past Fitzwater Drive, a large tree split and nearly fell on a resident’s home. The house was saved as the tree rested on the electrical and telephone wires.
Nokesville residents on Greenwich Wood Drive were without power as well. One resident said his home was affected, but could not spare time to talk, as he needed to get water to his horses.
Rodney Cooper, who also lives on Greenwich, was in a better situation after borrowing his brother-in-law’s generator.
Having lived in Alabama, Cooper thought it looked like a tornado last night.
“Usually the tornado comes in front of a storm. Trees just whipping,” he said.
Cooper was disappointed, but not surprised, when the energy in his house went out around 9 p.m. Friday night, during
the seventh innings of the Nats game he was watching.
On Saturday morning he and his wife both witnessed the extensive damage in their area. Although they drove in opposite directions on Burwell Road both hit major obstructions in the road.
However on Saturday night, Cooper was just happy to have his generator circulating some cool air through his home.
NOVEC had told him he might not regain power until Tuesday. Cooper said he hoped that was a generous estimate, and that his power would be back sooner rather than later.
It looks like Cooper got his wish as NOVEC reported power was back on in his community Saturday evening.
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