This story was updated at 10 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2021, to include the latest information on power outages
A severe thunderstorm brought down trees and power lines Wednesday afternoon, and left thousands without power in Montgomery County.
Much of the damage occurred in the Bethesda area, according to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer.
In a video posted to Twitter, Piringer said trees and power lines were down throughout the Wildwood neighborhood, near the shopping center by the same name. Several streets were closed in the neighborhood, he said.
Piringer posted that there were more than 100 calls for service between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, roughly one call per minute. A typical daily average is between 325 and 350 calls, he wrote.
Alta Vista Rd, off Old Georgetown Rd, tree rock wires down on top of vehicle, utility vehicle being used by work crew in area, no injuries, other nearby homes received some damage including one on Lundigan Ct https://t.co/BVFyqwPDGy pic.twitter.com/Q3cojbz7CR
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 11, 2021
ICYMI – few large trees down near Beech Avenue and Old Georgetown Road in front of YMCA Bethesda/Chevy Chase https://t.co/4TNKKHQTiC pic.twitter.com/w8FJikHp0D
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 11, 2021
Wildwood neighborhood, lots of trees down, power out near Wildwood shopping Center https://t.co/72wiXR0RB7
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 11, 2021
Kensington, MD several homes in area damaged by falling trees during Wednesday’s (8/11) severe weather thunderstorm @MontgomeryCoMD https://t.co/ReZV7n6ihW pic.twitter.com/vsDSAx0c9x
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) August 12, 2021
Other affected areas, according to Piringer, included:
- The 5600 block of Alta Vista Road in Bethesda, in which wires were down on top of a vehicle and someone was injured by flying debris
- The stretch of Interstate 495 between Rockville Pike and Connecticut Avenue, in which a vehicle struck a tree
- Broad Green Drive near Claggett Farm Drive in Potomac, where a lightning strike was reported
- Stretches of Old Georgetown Road and Md. 355 in Bethesda, in which traffic signals were out
- Muir Place near Ferndale Street in Kensington, where a tree fell on a house that was occupied and there were live wires down
- Several homes in Kensington were damaged by trees that fell
- The 5200 block of Acacia Avenue near Linden Avenue in Bethesda, where a large tree fell on a house, causing structural damage and displacing a family
Greentree Road in Bethesda. Photo by Cindy Rich.
A Twitter post from Naval Support Activity Bethesda stated that vehicles were being redirected from Gate F5 due to flooding. Drivers should instead use Gate 1 and expect delays.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Pepco was reporting that 9,577 customers were without power in Montgomery County, compared to 63 in Prince George’s County and 16 in D.C. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, about 900 customers in Montgomery County were without power, according to Pepco.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com