Storm Damage Assessment
Monday, June 14, 9:30 p.m.
Story and photos by Jay Wind
Arlington Heights neighborhood sustained heavy damage from the thunderstorm that tore through South Arlington at 5:05 pm, Monday, June 14.
How to cope with storm damage (recommendations from Mike Travis, Nationwide Insurance):
- Do NOT touch downed power lines
- Before doing anything, call your insurance agent and file a claim
- If trees fell near power lines, phone lines, or TV cables,
call
- Virginia Power (1-888-667-3000)
- Bell Atlantic (1-800-275-2355)
- Cable TV Arlington.
- Crews from those companies are already at work. It is safest if THEIR crews clear the branches away from their lines
- Take photographs before starting to remove debris
- If you incur costs removing the debris, keep written documentation of contracts and payments
- Many tree removal contractors are already in the neighborhood. You can take estimates from several. It is best to deal with someone you know and trust. Make sure anyone you deal with is licensed and uses proper safety equipment.
- Call FRAN at 228-6570 before 5 p.m. Thursday
- Pickups begin at 6:30 a.m. on Friday
- The Tree Truck can take trunks and branches
- less than 18 inches in diameter and
- less than 10 feet in length
- Branches do NOT have to be tied together
- Debris must be in front of a house, or across the street from a house
- Debris must NOT be under a powerline, telephone line, or cable TV line
Damage Assessment:
The storm did major damage on both sides of Route 50. My unprofessional estimate was at least $1 million in damage. In Arlington Heights neighborhood, here's a damage assessment:
- No personal injuries. I think that is Amazing Grace.
- 3 demolished cars (215 S Irving, 305 S Jackson, 3120 Arlington Blvd)
- At least 8 houses with exterior damage, including both of mine
- At least 4 houses with entrances inaccessible because of fallen trees
- About 100 houses without power and/or phone, including one of mine
- About 10 big trees uprooted, including 1 at Thomas Jefferson Center
- About 6 small trees uprooted, all at Thomas Jefferson Center
- About 100 properties requiring heavy clean-up
- A powerline/telephone phone snapped, but remained upright, on the 100 block of Old Glebe Road behind Arlington Oaks apartments
Besides the demolished cars, the worst property damage I saw anywhere was at 218 North Glebe Road, where a tree fell on the roof of an apartment building, shattering windows on both the first and second stories.
Photos of the Damage:
As far as I know, no one was injured. The storm demolished three cars at 305 South Jackson Street, 215 South Irving Street, and 3120 Arlington Boulevard, crashing through the windshield of a new Lincoln Continental. The storm also caused property damage to many homes. Phones and power lines were down on South Irving, Ivy, and Jackson Streets and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Street South. Police briefly closed 2nd Street South to traffic as crews and neighbors cleared a large fallen tree.
The land around Thomas Jefferson Community Center suffered severe storm damage. Along South Irving Street, a mature tree and six smaller trees were uprooted. The storm blew the goal posts more than 100 yards from Jefferson's soccer field and felled a tree at the entrance to the field (Sarah and Christian Falby in photo). The rain was so heavy that parts of the field were virtually turned into quicksand. In all, the storm uprooted eight trees at Jefferson.
- The large stump left over after the storm will be removed soon
- County forester Jamie Bartalon stands in front of a tree damaged by the fall of the big tree
- Trees along Route 50 east of Glebe Road were felled
- George Shirley of Virginia Department of Transportation was crew chief for removal of damaged trees along Route 50
- Parks Division Chief Steve Temmermand and Randy Randall cleaned out the clogged drain that caused the "quicksand" trap
- At 3103 2nd Street South, Sean McNamara's house sustained major damage to the roof and chimney. "The insurance inspector says that my chimney was demolished by lightning and the surrounding roof torn and lacerated by exploding bricks! As of yesterday I will have to replace the roofs over my porch as well as the main house roof, replace the chimney and cut down the huge oak on the Highland side of property," wrote Sean. Photo of Sean McNamara's house. Photo of Sean's chimney knocked sideways.
- Railings on the front porch at 2926 2nd Street South were crushed.
- At 127 South Garfield Street, a huge limb crushed the shed in the back yard. On Friday, workmen began clearing the garage at 127 South Garfield.
- At 2926 2nd Street South, two trees crashed, both narrowly missing the house.
- At 809 South Ivy Street, a falling branch crunched the front awning and part of the roof.
- At 617 South Glebe Road, Graciela Helring's home suffered roof damage from a neighboring tree. Ms. Helring arrived home ten minutes after the storm. Had she been home just a few minutes earlier, the tree would have demolished her car (JOY ESQ).
- At 3325 Sixth Street South, two houses were spared major damage when a large tree fell right down the middle of the driveway
- separating them.
- At 3321 Sixth Street South, a tree crushed the roof in back of the house.
- At 3304 Sixth Street South, a fallen tree blocked the entryway to the house.
- At 201 South Irving Street, the storm uprooted a 61-year-old silver maple, which was removed on Thursday, June 17. Litong and Rachel Roa's house suffered roof damage.
- At 207 South Irving Street, a tall falling tree narrowly missed two nearby houses.
- At 126 South Irving Street, a falling tree mangled power lines and the fence of Thomas Jefferson Community Center.
- Trees fell, roofs collapsed, but hope survived -- the rain helped Lila Shapiro's hydrangeas to bloom.
A Few Post-Storm Improvements at Thomas Jefferson Community Center
For the park around the Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington County Parks Division Chief Steve Temmermand recently suggested several proposals:
- Proposed: To replace odd patches of asphalt with crushed stone.on the half-mile outdoor trail
- Proposed: To paint the pedestrian bridge across Route 50
- Proposed: To apply a "wetting agent" to minimize the dust on the new lower athletic field
