Thousands without power following storm

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, January 5, 2022

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Wet snow and gusty winds have left thousands without power following a Monday, Jan. 3 winter storm that dumped 3.5 inches of snow throughout the county.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4, over 10,000 Southside Electric customers remained without power. Of those, close to 4,000 were Lunenburg customers, with only 116 homes restored.

At the same time, Dominion Energy was listing only two homes still without power.

Domain Energy serves around 2,500 customers in Lunenburg.

According to the Virginia State Police, downed trees and ice were significant issues for much of Virginia.

As of Tuesday morning, VSP was still asking drivers to stay off the roads in an effort for VDOT to expedite the process of clearing, treating and plowing interstate, primary and secondary roadways.

From 12 a.m. Monday, Jan. 3 through midnight, VSP responded to 988 reports of disabled/stuck vehicles and 1,002 traffic crashes.

As of press time, Tuesday, Jan. 4, VDOT was reporting that fallen trees and power lines continue to slow clearing.

“Conditions vary greatly, with most primary highways seeing just patches of snow and ice remaining on the roads,” said VDOT Communications Manager Len Stevens. “The snow fell heaviest in the north and east of the district – in Cumberland and Prince Edward counties.”

According to Stevens, power outages affected traffic signal lights at several intersections, with some operating off of generators.