Richmond resident recalls widespread storm damage near his neighborhood

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Thousands of residents across Central Virginia dealt with the aftermath of powerful storms that swept through the region Sunday night.

According to Dominion Energy spokesperson Craig Carper, on Sunday, July 27, the scattered storms affected more than 90,000 Dominion Energy customers -- particularly in the Greater Richmond area. The storms caused widespread damage, including broken poles, cross lines and downed wires.

In Richmond, more than 80 customers near Libby and Grove Avenue were left without electricity. One local resident, Noel Clinard, described the moment the storm hit.

“There was a tremendous explosion, and then the power went out on this street,” Clinard said. He added that a large section of a tree broke off and crashed into power lines, causing extensive damage.

“It was heavy enough that it broke everything all the way down to this house here," he said.

Carper noted that crews are working long shifts in challenging heat conditions to restore power.

“Every bucket truck has a cooler full of water, Gatorade -- everything they need to stay hydrated. And they're taking care of each other,” he said.

Dominion is advising customers to keep windows and blinds closed to prevent indoor temperatures from rising during outages.

Clinard said his family is taking precautions to keep food from spoiling and to stay cool.

“Our house has got solid brick walls. So it was still 74 degrees in the house when we got home, and the freezer was still cold and the refrigerator was still cold, so we took everything out,” Clinard said.

Dominion Energy expects most customers to have power restored by 11 p.m., with smaller towns expected to be back online by Tuesday, July 29.