A few thousand people awoke without power Thursday morning in Prince George’s County, more than 24 hours after storms lashed the Washington, D.C., area.
Broken trees littered yards, and many residents relied on generators for electricity.
About 4,300 Baltimore Gas and Electric Company customers and 2,000 Pepco customers had power outages in the county as of 6:30 a.m. Only a few outages were reported in Montgomery County.
In the Woodmore area, residents spent the morning clearing fallen branches and debris. Some were coping with how to care for family members without electricity.
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Sheila Miller used a generator to power part of her home as she cared for her mother, who she said has dementia.
“Anything out of the ordinary kind of throws them off,” she said.
Miller shared her generator power with neighbors, letting them use it to charge their phones.
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“Very, very, very appreciative of the kindness of our neighbors,” neighbor Jackie Dixon said.
Power in their neighborhood was back for many by 11 a.m.
A spokesperson for BGE said more than 800 power workers from other utility companies were helping to restore power.
"We are expecting to restore 90% of customers by tomorrow night. However, due to extensive damage from fallen trees, some equipment may not be accessible and repairs to damaged equipment may take longer than anticipated. Please assume that all wires are energized at lethal voltages. Never assume that a wire is safe to touch or be near. Call BGE at 1-877-778-2222 to report fallen electrical lines, power outages and gas odors."
Pepco shared a statement saying Prince George’s County saw the most damage.
“A major thunderstorm passed through Pepco’s District of Columbia and Maryland service territory, causing major tree damage, broken poles, downed wires and damaged electric equipment,” a Pepco statement said.
Tuesday’s storms moved through quickly, but they left a mess in parts of Prince George's County.
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS said it received 360 calls for service since the storms blew through. The worst of the damage is concentrated on College Park, Berwyn Heights and Greenbelt, where dozens of trees came down.
The University of Maryland College Park says the campus will reopen at 10 a.m. The school closed Wednesday because of storm damage.
UMD says some services, such as air conditioning, may need extra time to return to normal operation.
The same system of storms on Tuesday set off intense flooding in southwest Virginia, leaving more than 100 homes damaged and dozens unaccounted for, local officials said.
