Residents of a Northern Virginia community are weathering a fifth day with no power in their homes as temperatures drop.
There was a sense of urgency Friday to get power back on in the Aquia Harbor area of Stafford County, but it was dangerous work and slow going for dozens of utility and tree crews.
More than 3,000 customers in the county had power restored since Thursday night. But 5,000 customers were still waiting.
Joe Farro and his wife were among those without power for five days, since Monday’s major snowstorm hit.
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“I’ve lived here 30 years. I’ve never seen anything like this, with all the trees down,” he said.
“When we’re gonna get electric back, it’s a big secret that they’re keeping from us," he added.
Farro dressed in layers and kept a fire going inside. But they had no showers or hot food.
Farro said he was encouraged, though, by seeing a crew working just down the street. Dominion Energy brought in utility crews from as far away as Florida to fix dozens of broken power poles. First, though, other crews must tackle the tricky work of getting fallen trees off the power lines.
Resident Diana Conaway returned on Friday to check on her house. She said she was trapped for two days before neighbors offered to drive her out, rolling over downed power lines and around fallen trees.
“My young neighbors told me, 'Miss Diana, we’re getting out of here and you’re getting out of here too,'" Conaway said.
Seeing neighbors help neighbors was the bright spot in a difficult week.
Residents turned a generator-powered community center into a place to warm up, charge devices and pick up donated firewood and food.
“We are here to help anybody,” one donor said. “We’re going to be here 24 hours a day until everybody in Aquia Harbor has their power back on.”
Roast duck was on the menu Friday night, thanks to a Wegmans donation and neighbors set to fire up their grill.
Dominion Energy said they expect to restore power for most customers Friday night, though it may come late.
