Crime and Public Safety
Click HERE to see outages and warming shelters
See the latest update from AEP Below. This is the final update regarding this storm
Appalachian Power Storm Response Update
Monday, December 26, 2022 – 11:45 a.m.
Situation
More than 1,100 workers remain committed to restoring electric service for nearly 50,000 Appalachian Power customers who lost power December 23 from damaging winds and bitterly cold temperatures.
Power has been restored to 90 percent of customers affected by the severe weather, and crews are making great progress to complete service restoration today.
Remaining outages are mostly in areas of Virginia in and around Roanoke and Lynchburg.
Outages
During extreme cold temperatures workers have had to stay in areas after repairs were complete, and bring customers back in small groups to avoid overloading electric lines.
This extra step will not be needed as much with today’s more moderate temperatures, which will help restoration progress faster.
Areas with the most remaining outages include: Bedford County, 408; Botetourt County, 405; Campbell County, 470; Franklin County, 1,639; Henry County, 145; Lynchburg, 1,234; Pulaski County, 158; Roanoke County, 1,018; and Roanoke, 580.
Restoration Estimates
Most customers still without service from the storm should have service restored by late tonight.
In isolated cases or areas where extensive repairs are needed, restoration may extend into tomorrow.
We are working to update restoration estimates for each specific outage as information becomes available.
Note of Thanks
Through this time of outages in extreme cold and through the Christmas holiday, we wish to express our appreciation to our customers for their patience and understanding; to state and local officials for their assistance; and to our employees, contractors and those who came from many states away to help restore power in this difficult time.
Safety Message
- All downed lines are dangerous — they carry an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Stay away to stay alive. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others away from it and anything it may be touching, and call 911 and Appalachian Power at 1-800-956-4237 immediately.
- If you plan to use an alternate heat source, ensure it is in good working order and follow all safety precautions. Never operate lanterns, heaters, fuel-fired stoves or burn charcoal without proper ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and fires.
- If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box.
- Additional safety tips are posted at https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/faq/OutageSafetyTips.aspx.
For More Information
Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Appalachian Power outage alerts. To sign up, please visit www.appalachianpower.com/alerts.
A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime at www.appalachianpower.com. Go to the Outages and Problems section of the homepage and click “View Outage Map.” We are also including known warming shelter locations on our outage map.
Next Update: This is the final update for this storm.
Appalachian Power Storm Response Update
Sunday, December 25, 2022 – 2:00 p.m.
Situation
Power has been restored to roughly 75 percent of Appalachian Power customers impacted by Friday’s damaging winds and bitterly cold temperatures. Most West Virginia customers are back in service, and the company remains focused on securing resources for Virginia.
An additional 150 workers arrived in Virginia today from other AEP operating companies. They join the more than 1,250 workers committed to Appalachian Power’s storm restoration effort. An additional 120 workers from other parts of the company’s service area are expected to arrive in Virginia tomorrow.
Thank you to the employees, friends and family, as well as members of the community, for providing warm meals for the restoration workers over the holiday.
Outages
- Nearly 50,000 Appalachian Power customers were impacted by the storm.
- Extreme cold temperatures continue to create line overload problems when trying to restore large numbers of customers. This has impacted restoration times. After repairs are complete, workers must restore power to small groups of customers, letting electric load settle before restoring additional customers.
- Customers with outages can help speed restoration by turning off large electric using appliances, such as heaters and water heaters, until 15 or more minutes after power has been restored.
Restoration Estimates
Most customers should have service restored as follows:
Tonight
- Northern Panhandle customers in West Virginia
- Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe County customers in Virginia
Monday Night
- Albemarle, Amherst, Floyd and Nelson counties in Virginia
Tuesday Night
- Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Henry, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Lynchburg and Roanoke in Virginia
Safety Message
- All downed lines are dangerous — they carry an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Stay away to stay alive. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others away from it and anything it may be touching, and call 911 and Appalachian Power at 1-800-956-4237 immediately.
- If you plan to use an alternate heat source, ensure it is in good working order and follow all safety precautions. Never operate lanterns, heaters, fuel-fired stoves or burn charcoal without proper ventilation to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and fires.
- If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box.
- Additional safety tips are posted at https://www.appalachianpower.com/outages/faq/OutageSafetyTips.aspx.
For More Information
Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Appalachian Power outage alerts. To sign up, please visit www.appalachianpower.com/alerts.
A snapshot view of current outages is available anytime at www.appalachianpower.com. Go to the Outages and Problems section of the homepage and click “View Outage Map.” We are also including known warming shelter locations on our outage map.
BEDFORD CO, Va. – Virginia State Police is investigating a single vehicle crash, which resulted in a fatality. The crash occurred Sunday, (Dec 25) at 1:30 a.m. on Route 460, just east of Route 805 in Bedford County.
A 1993 Dodge Dakota was traveling east on Route 460, when the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, overcorrected, then crossing the median and overturned into the westbound lanes.
The dodge was driven by Paul Daniel Morgan, 28, of Bedford. Mr. Morgan was not wearing his seatbelt and died at the scene.
(from Roanoke PD) On December 24, 2022, at approximately 6:35 p.m., Roanoke Police were notified by the City of Roanoke E-911 Center of a person with a gunshot wound in the 1100 block of Pilot St NW. Responding officers located an adult male victim with what appeared to be a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Details about what led to this shooting are limited at this time. No suspects were located on scene and no arrests have been made regarding this incident. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call (540)344-8500 and share what you know. You can also text us at 274637; please begin the text with “RoanokePD” to ensure it’s properly sent. Both calls and texts can remain anonymous.
The City of Roanoke, Virginia – Government is coordinating with theCentral Church of the Brethren at 416 Church Ave. (next to swift print) for a warming shelter starting at 6:00pm – 10:00pm. Those in need of warm shelter visit by entering the side door or following the ramp to the rear entrance. In addition to the warm shelter, you can charge your devices. Lastly, there will be a service starting at 9:00pm for those who are interested in attending.
(from ApCo) Situation Approximately 36,000 customers remain without electric service after damaging winds and bitterly cold temperatures caused power outages yesterday across Appalachian Power’s service area. Hundreds of workers from several states will arrive later today and tomorrow to join the more than 1,000-line mechanics, servicers and assessors already dedicated to the restoration effort.
In addition to weather-related outages, extremely cold temperatures across the region have created extraordinary demands on the power system, prompting Appalachian Power and other electric utilities across several states to ask customers to reduce electric use.
Outages
- Nearly 50,000 customers were without power yesterday morning. Since that time, service has been restored to roughly 14,000 customers.
- Bitter cold temperatures in some areas continue to cause delays getting power back on once repairs have been made.
- Roughly 90 percent of the customers still without service are in Virginia. Areas with more than 1,000 customers affected include Bedford County, 2,022; Botetourt County, 1,250; Campbell County, 2,125; Carroll County, 2,210; Floyd County, 1,584; Franklin County, 6,018; Lynchburg, 2,288; Montgomery County, 1,378; Patrick County, 1,014; Pulaski County, 1,600; Roanoke County, 4,827; and Roanoke City, 1,540.
Restoration Estimates: In the most heavily affected areas of Virginia, including Roanoke, Lynchburg and surrounding areas, we are still assessing damage and expect to provide restoration estimates this afternoon. In areas where we can provide restoration estimates, most customers should have service restored as follows:
Tomorrow Night: Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe County customers in Virginia.
(from Roanoke County) Today’s weather event has left many homes across Roanoke County, primarily in the southwest section, without power. Roanoke County will open a WARMING SHELTER on Saturday at South County Library, from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. The entrance is on the side of the building. The library itself is closed due to the holiday weekend. The library is located at 6303 Merriman Road. People are welcome to find some warmth, have a cup of coffee and charge their phones.
Though Virginia’s drunk driving fatalities are down, the Commonwealth’s Governor is taking a hardline approach to driving under the influence this holiday season. WFIR’s Emma Thomas has that story:
Just before 4:00 p.m. Sunday, Roanoke County Fire and Rescue was dispatched to a structure fire in the 6200 block of Darby Road. The fire was contained quickly. A female was found deceased inside the home. Roanoke County Police was called to the scene and is now conducting a homicide investigation. One person was taken into custody Sunday and has been charged with second degree murder. The identity of the suspect will be released at a later time. There is no additional information regarding the investigation to release at this time.
